How to Perform Bare Metal Backup and Recovery on Linux Step by Step?

While Windows operating systems are dominant in the PC market, Linux has been gaining popularity among companies for various reasons.

Windows operating systems need to be activated with licenses but Linux, as the open-source software, is free of charge. In addition, it is friendly to developers, has better performance on physical server and better compatibility with different hardware, and provide enhanced security.

There are a lot of distributions of Linux like, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS, REHL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux), etc. As Linux is often used in companies, to protect important business data, IT administrators need to select a professional backup and disaster recovery solution.

If so, bare metal backup will be a good choice. See how to protect Linux environment with bare metal backup and recovery.

What is bare metal backup and recovery on Linux?

Everybody can simply backup files on Linux machine by exporting them to an external drive or network share but companies need higher-level protection and faster recovery.

With only Linux files, it might be hard to save a server from downtime. You can reinstall the operating system or use bare metal restore to rescue your business.

Bare metal restore requires a bare metal backup of that Linux machine which consists of data of the entire machine including operating system and applications. Compared with system reinstallation, bare metal recovery will help recover not only the operating system but also let the server go back to work immediately, saving a lot of time.

Windows server has the built-in backup solution Windows Server Backup to create bare metal backup and recovery media but Linux doesn’t provide any solution like that so you need to have a third-party backup solution.

Perform CentOS/RHEL bare metal backup and recovery with Vinchin Backup & Recovery

Vinchin Backup & Recovery is an enterprise backup solution to help companies backup most appliances and applications in IT environments, like Linux server (CentOS/RHEL 8/7/6), Windows Server, file server, database, VM, NAS, etc.

As a professional backup and disaster and recovery solution, of course, it supports bare metal backup and recovery. You can see the whole process in this section.

Make a bare metal backup of Linux server:

There will be a user-friendly web console to help you backup the Linux server step by step.

1. Select the Linux server > click Next

2. Select the storage to store the data backup > click Next

3. Select backup strategies like schedules and incremental backup > click Next

4. Submit the job

Now the entire Linux server including operating system and applications installed on it will be backed up.

Perform a bare metal restore using the backup created in Vinchin Backup & Recovery:

1. Download the LiveCD ISO image of the Linux operating system (provided by Vinchin)

2. Create a bootable USB drive or CD/DVD disc using the downloaded ISO image

3. Boot your server from the USB drive or CD/DVD drive

4. Select Start LiveCD OS Restore and press Enter

5. Log in with the credentials: Username: root/Password: Backup@3R

6. Connecting the server to Vinchin backup server with the command below:

sh os_restore

For server with multiple NICs on board, select the NIC which can be used to connect to Vinchin backup server by typing the NIC number and pressing Enter.

Input a valid IP address > input a valid netmask > input a valid gateway >  input Vinchin backup server IP address

7. Back to Vinchin Backup & Recovery web console > select Physical Backup > Server Backup > Restore

8. Select the Linux backup created before > click Next

9. Select the connected machine as the target host > click Next

10. Select restore strategies like Speed Controller and Transfer Threads > click Next

11. Submit the job

Now you can wait for the bare metal restore to be completed.

Vinchin Backup & Recovery has been selected by thousands of companies and you can also start a 60-day full-featured free trial here. Also, contact us, leave your requirements, and then you will receive your tailored solution. We have established partnerships with reputable companies all over the world so if you would like to do a local business, you can select a local partner here.

Sum Up

Linux is a popular operating system in companies. Considering of business data protection, you should find a professional solution like bare metal backup and recovery to guarantee business continuity.

Vinchin Backup & Recovery can help easily create a bare metal backup and perform a bare metal restore step by step so don’t miss the free trial.