Areca Backup an open source Open Source backup solution

August 16th, 2009

Areca Backup is basically an open source backup solution for windows and Linux. It basically allows you to select a set of files or directories to back-up, choose where and how (as a simple file copy, as a zip archive,) you will like them be stored, and configure post-backup actions (like sending backup reports by email or launching custom shell scripts). Areca is a very simple and easy to use program, your backup configuration (which is stored as an XML file) can be edited with Areca’s simple graphical user interface which requires any complex configuration files to edited.

Main features:

1. Backup Engine Features :

Archives compression (Zip & Zip64 format)
Archives encryption (AES128 & AES256 encryption algorithms)
Storage on local hard drive, network drive, USB key, FTP / FTPs server (with implicit and explicit SSL / TLS)
Source file filters (by extension, subdirectory, regular expression, size, date, status, with AND/OR/NOT logical operators)
Incremental, differential and full backup support
Support for delta backup (store only modified parts of your files)
Archives merges : You can merge contiguous archives into one single archive to save storage space.
As of date recovery : Areca allows you to recover your archives (or single files) as of a specific date.
Transaction mechanism : All critical processes (such as backups or merges) are transactional. This guarantees your backups’ integrity.
Backup reports : Areca generates backup reports that can be stored on your disk or sent by email.
Post backup scripts : Areca can launch shell scripts after backup.
Files permissions, symbolic links and named pipes can be stored and recovered. (Linux only)

2.Graphical User Interface :

Archives content explorer. (including a ‘find file in archives’ feature)
Archive description : A manifest is associated to each archive, which contains various informations such as title, date, description, and additional technical data.
File version tracking : Areca keeps track of your files’ history (creation / modifications / deletion). Each version can be selectively viewed and recovered.
Backup simulation (check whether a backup is necessary)
User’s actions history : Areca keeps an history of all user’s actions (archives deletion, merges, backups, recoveries).

3.Command-Line Interface :