Cedar Backup

Cedar Backup is a remarkable software package that enables local and remote backup of files to CD-R or CD-RW media across a secure network connection, using Python programming language. The standout feature of Cedar Backup is that it comes with inbuilt support for backing up MySQL databases, Subversion repositories and other data sources. Moreover, Cedar Backup is highly customizable, enabling easy extension of features to fit users' specific needs.

The software has been designed to focus on weekly backups to a single disc, which can be changed or overwritten at the beginning of each week. Thanks to its multisession disc-writing functionality, Cedar Backup can write backups to a CD in a daily format, where compatible hardware is available. Tar is utilized to back up directories, while gzip and bzip2 compression features are available for use.

While there are numerous free and open-source backup software packages on the market today, Cedar Backup aims to carve its niche. It is optimized for individuals who need to back up limited amounts of their essential data regularly onto CD-R or CD-RW. If you are seeking software to back up very large data collections, Cedar Backup may not be the best option for you. However, if you manage a small set of machines, and daily incremental backups of system configuration, small websites, current email and CVS repository are things you desire, Cedar Backup should be on your radar.

Cedar Backup is currently supported only on Debian and other Linux systems, having been developed initially on a Debian GNU/Linux platform. Nevertheless, because it is written in portable programming language Python, it should operate seamlessly on other UNIX-like systems. It is, however, essential to note that the other systems must have operational versions of the mkisofs as well as cdrecord utilities.