ZFS Saving snapshots as backup solution

[phil5]

This is how Oracle introduces the concept of ZFS send / receive as a backup solution:

Saving snapshots – Use the zfs send and zfs receive commands to send and receive a ZFS snapshot. You can save incremental changes between snapshots, but you cannot restore files individually. You must restore the entire file system snapshot. These commands do not provide a complete backup solution for saving your ZFS data.

Why is it not a "complete backup solution"? Do they imply that other strategies should be combined with saving snapshots, or that saving snapshots does not completely save the ZFS data?

 

[kpa]

It's like calling tar(1) a complete backup solution, it provides the basic means to make a full backup of your files but everything else is for you to build on top of it.

 

[SirDice]

Yeah, snapshots on their own aren't backups but you can certainly use snapshots to make backups. Snapshots are simply a tool, and you need to have proper procedures around that tool to create a "complete backup solution".

Tip, don't just test your backup strategy. Test your restore procedures regularly too. You wouldn't be the first that's been diligently backing up for years only to find out at the worst possible moment those backups are totally worthless.

 

[phoenix]

Creating the snapshots on the local system is not a backups solution, in and of itself.

Transferring the snapshots to another system is not a backups solution, in and of itself.

But, they provide the basis for creating a backups solution. And there are many scripts and binaries and products out there that use those to create a complete backups and recovery solution.