User manual for Backup Station

Snubbi

Hi, I'm new to GhostBSD. I have searched for a user manual online for the Backup Station. But apparently there isn't anyone. Is it possible to make such a howto. It will definitely help newbies to GhostBSD.

vimanuelt

Snubbi vimanuelt/Backup-Station-Users-Guide

Snubbi

Thanks

rontarrant

That link to the user guide is now broken. I looked for another, but couldn't find one.

vimanuelt

I no longer use Git or Github, so let me post the Backup Station Guide here. :-)

Backup Station Guide

Getting Started

Open the application menu and launch Backup Station.
Enter your administrator password if prompted.
The main window will display a list of your existing boot environments.

Main Window Overview

| Column | Description |
|-----------------|------------------------------------------------|
| BE Name | Name of the boot environment. |
| Active | Indicates whether the boot environment is active. |
| Mountpoint | Mount location of the boot environment. |
| Space | Disk space used by the boot environment. |
| Date | Creation date of the boot environment. |
| Time | Creation time of the boot environment. |

At the bottom of the window, you’ll find buttons for managing boot environments.

Step-by-Step Guide

Create a New Boot Environment

Click the Create BE button.
Enter a name for the new boot environment (e.g., BeforeUpdate or TestEnv).
Click OK to confirm. The new boot environment will appear in the list.

Rename a Boot Environment

Select a boot environment by clicking its name.
Click the Rename BE button.
Enter the new name and click OK. The list will update with the new name.

Activate a Boot Environment

Highlight the boot environment you want to activate.
Click the Activate BE button.
Reboot your system to switch to the selected environment.

Delete a Boot Environment

Select the environment you want to delete.
- Note: You cannot delete the active environment. Switch to another one first.
Click the Delete BE button.
Confirm the deletion. The boot environment will be removed.

Mount a Boot Environment

Select the desired boot environment.
Click the Mount BE button. The mount point will appear in the Mountpoint column.

Unmount a Boot Environment

Select the mounted boot environment.
Click the Unmount BE button. The mount point will disappear.

Pro Tips for Efficient Management

Use Descriptive Names
Name your boot environments based on their purpose (e.g., BeforeUpgrade, StableSetup, or ExperimentEnv) to stay organized.
Backup Before Changes
Always create a boot environment before system updates, software installations, or major configuration changes.
Clean Up Regularly
Delete old or unused environments to free up disk space and keep the list manageable.
Monitor Disk Usage
Use the Space column to track how much space each environment uses. Enable ZFS compression to save space.
Test Safely
Create separate boot environments for testing new software or configurations. This way, your stable environment stays untouched.
Document Changes
Maintain a simple log of what each environment contains and the changes made to it for quick reference.
Inspect with Mount
Use the Mount feature to access or troubleshoot files in a boot environment without activating it.
Enable Snapshots
Consider using ZFS snapshots alongside Backup Station for an additional layer of data safety.
Don’t Overdo It
Avoid clutter by limiting boot environments to key milestones or checkpoints.

Troubleshooting

Backup Station Won’t Open

If the app doesn’t launch, try starting it from the terminal:

sudo backup-station

This will display any error messages.

Password Issues

Ensure you’re entering the correct administrator password. Backup Station requires elevated permissions to manage boot environments.

Robin

This needs to be more easily found in the documentation. Also a "plain language" explanation of what a Boot Environment is, why it's useful, how to use it.

How is a BE different from a zfs snapshot? Should we use both? How (in plain language)?

To be honest, I always have a copy of a Linux OS handy for things like backups, because there's no GUI for making a bootable copy of my existing GhostBSD system.

vimanuelt

Robin

Typical workflow

Before a system update, create a ZFS snapshot of your root dataset.
- This takes almost no time and protects against small mistakes.
Create a new BE for the upgrade.
- This gives you a separate bootable system to install updates into.
- If the upgrade goes wrong, you just reboot and choose the previous BE.
Use snapshots inside each BE for:
- Home directory versioning
- Rollbacks on config files
- Restoring accidental deletions

Example (conceptual, not commands)

Make snapshot:
“Take a picture of my system right now.”
Create BE:
“Make a new bootable copy from that picture so I can update safely.”
Perform updates in the new BE.
If something breaks:
“Reboot and pick the old BE; everything is back to normal.”

In short

Snapshots protect data.
Boot environments protect your entire bootable system.

vimanuelt

Maybe adding this as a note is a good idea.

GhostBSD’s Backup Station is useful, but it has several important limitations. First, it only manages boot environments, which are snapshots or clones of the root filesystem. This means it does not back up user data or any ZFS datasets that are mounted separately, such as home, var, usr, or other filesystems. Rolling back a boot environment restores the state of the operating system’s root but does not necessarily restore your personal files or application data. Second, Backup Station does not create backups to external drives or remote locations. Despite the name, it is not a full backup system, and it will not protect you from disk failure, device loss, or physical damage to the system. Third, it does not provide access to the full range of ZFS snapshot features. For example, you cannot use it to schedule automatic snapshots or to manage snapshots on datasets outside the root. Users who want finer control must use ZFS tools directly from the command line. Finally, Backup Station works best on a simple, single drive installation, because it assumes that the root filesystem exists on one disk. Systems that use multiple disks, multiple pools, or more complex layouts may end up with inconsistent snapshots, since only the root dataset is included in the boot environment. In short, Backup Station is convenient for creating safe restore points before upgrades or major system changes, but it should be combined with regular ZFS snapshots and real backups to external storage if you want full data protection.

vimanuelt

This makes a strong case for introducing a solution similar to Solaris’s Time Slider, which provided an intuitive interface for managing ZFS snapshots.

Robin

That is the most clarifying explanation I've ever seen! Thank you very much!!