I use rsync too. It’s older and from what I understand was designed at a time when data storage was much smaller so it may not be as fast as other backup options. It also doesn’t have encrypted backups like other backup options (I think).

Rsync has been the most reliable option for me though. Every syncing option I’ve tried seems too complicated and breaks down every time I look away. Since my entire backup size is around 550gb and I’m not concerned with encrypted backups, I think rsync just works just fine.

I even created my own tool that puts my rsync commands into easy to read/modify files so I can organize my most common transfers. I can easily backup my phone, HomeAssistant server, home server and computer to my two backup locations in a single alias or cronjob now.

A bit of a pain to learning how to make proper backups that restore successfully every time, but once I figured it out, I’ve been very confident in my backup strategy.

podman ps shows the following:

CONTAINER ID  IMAGE                                 COMMAND               CREATED         STATUS         PORTS                                                         NAMES
daae60bdcc65  docker.io/library/caddy-caddy:latest  caddy run --confi...  47 minutes ago  Up 47 minutes  0.0.0.0:80->80/tcp, 0.0.0.0:5050->443/tcp, 2019/tcp, 443/udp  caddy

netstat -tunpl shows the following:

Active Internet connections (only servers)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address           Foreign Address         State       PID/Program name    
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:5025            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      3270/sshd: /usr/sbi 
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:5050            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      7342/conmon         
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:80              0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      7342/conmon         
tcp        0      0 10.89.0.1:53            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      7336/aardvark-dns   
tcp6       0      0 :::5025                 :::*                    LISTEN      3270/sshd: /usr/sbi 
udp        0      0 10.89.0.1:53            0.0.0.0:*                           7336/aardvark-dns 

The only difference for the netstat command between Docker and Podman is that Podman show’s entries for aardvark-dns and Docker does not which is something I expect.

I’ve been using Alpine Linux. I’ve always leaned towards minimalism in my personal life so Alpine seems like an appropriate fit for me.

Since what is installed is intentional, I am able to keep track of changes more accurately. I keep a document for complete setup by hand, then reduce that to an install script so I can get back to the same state in a minimal amount of time if needed.

Since I only have a Laptop and two Raspberry Pi’s with no intention of expanding or upgrading, this works for me as a personal hobby.

I’ve even gone as far as to use Alpine Sway as a desktop to keep everything similar as well.

I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone who doesn’t have the time to learn. It doesn’t use systemd and packages are often split meaning you will have to figure out what additional packages you may need beyond the core package.

I appreciate the approach Alpine takes because from a security point of view, less moving parts means less surface area to exploit. In today’s social climate, who knows how or when I’ll become a target.