How to Use UrBackup For Efficient Backups on Ubuntu

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As a system administrator, are you constantly looking for a promising backup facility that enables you to back up your critical data to overcome any unexpected system crash or data loss? Try UrBackup, an open-source client/server backup system that ensures your critical files and images are securely backed up on a server with fast restoration capabilities, providing peace of mind against data loss.

This article will show you how to set up an UrBackup server along with Windows and Linux clients for efficiently backing up your data.

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Why Use UrBackup

UrBackup is an excellent choice for backups because it’s open-source and supports both incremental and full backups of files and images across Windows and Linux platforms. It outperforms typical local backup software since your critical data is stored on a centralized server, ensuring you don’t lose your data in the event of a system damage to the device.

UrBackup also offers the following features that make it stand out:

Easy setup
Free software
Fast restoration
Security features
User management
Data deduplication and compression
Regular backups while the system is in use
Full and incremental image and file backups
Customization of backup versions and retention policies
Centralized management of multiple clients via the web interface

Installing UrBackup Server on Ubuntu

Before you begin any installation, it’s recommended to update your system’s package index to ensure it’s up-to-date:

sudo apt update -y

Install the required dependencies of the UrBackup server on Ubuntu:

sudo apt install curl gnupg2 software-properties-common -y

Add the UrBackup PPA repository to the list of system repositories:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:uroni/urbackup

Finally, you can install the UrBackup server on your Ubuntu with the following command:

sudo apt update -y && sudo apt install urbackup-server -y

During the installation process, you’ll see a prompt asking about the backup path. Here, you can provide a preferred path or leave it as default. Once done, select the OK option:

You’ve successfully installed the UrBackup server in your Ubuntu system. To check if it’s active and running:

sudo systemctl status urbackupsrv

In case it’s not active, you can run the systemctl start command to ensure your UrBackup server service is active. Moreover, you can also use the systemctl enable command to start the UrBackup server service automatically at system boot:

sudo systemctl start urbackupsrv<br>sudo systemctl enable urbackupsrv

Accessing UrBackup Server Web Interface

Next, you can access the Urbackup server web interface through FastCGI (port 55413) and HTTP (port 55414) by default. To check if both these ports are listening, you can run the commands mentioned below:

ss -abon | grep 55414
ss -abon | grep 55413

Now, open your favorite web browser and either type http://localhost:55414 or http://<IP_address>:55414 to access your UrBackup server:

Note: Make sure you replace the IP address with your Ubuntu’s IP. If you don’t know your IP address, run the hostname -I command.

Creating an Admin User on the UrBackup Server

You must create an admin account for the UrBackup server web interface. Otherwise, anyone can access all backups via the web interface.

In the UrBackup Server web interface, go to Settings -> Users and click on the Create user button.

Provide a strong password for your Admin user and click on the Create button:

Now, you must provide this password for accessing your server’s web interface as an admin. No one else can access this web interface besides an admin. You can also create other users with different rights to grant them web interface access.

Adding a New Backup Client in UrBackup

Now, you need to add backup clients whose files and images will be backed up on the UrBackup server.

To create a new backup client to the UrBackup server, head to the Status tab and click on the Add new client button:

Provide the name for your UrBackup client and also enter its IP address. Then, press the Add client button. In my case, I’m providing the IP address of another Ubuntu machine running on my network:

You’ll see the Client added successfully message along with some other information beneath it related to configuring Windows or Linux clients:

Similarly, I’ll also create a Windows client so that we can demonstrate the configuration of both Windows and Linux clients. You can create multiple clients as per your requirements.

Side Note: For demonstration, the name for my Windows client is Windows-client and the Linux client is neem-client.

Configuring Client Backups on UrBackup

Let’s learn how you can configure Linux and Windows UrBackup clients.

Configure Linux Client

For the Linux client, you can either download preconfigured client installer for Linux and install it on the client machine. Alternatively, you can simply copy the installation command provided under the client added successfully message and execute it in your client’s terminal. For instance, in my case, it’s the following command:

TF= `mktemp && wget "http://192.168.15.129:55414/x?a=download_client&lang=en& clientid=1&authkey=q8Y3FYBpd5&os=linux" -0 $TF && sudo sh $TF; rm -f $TF

During the UrBackup client installation on your Ubuntu machine, you’ll get a prompt asking you to select a snapshot mechanism. Enter a number (1-5) depending on your preferred snapshot method and press Enter:

After the installation of the UrBackup client, you can verify its status using the systemctl status command:

sudo systemctl status urbackupclientbackend

Finally, configure the backup directory of your UrBackup client by running the following command:

/usr/local/bin/urbackupclientctl -x -f -d /home/maketecheasier/imp-date

Note: Feel free to configure the directory as per your liking.

Now, you can go to your UrBackup server and monitor this client’s backup status via the web interface.

Configure Windows Client

To configure a Windows client, first you should create its client as mentioned above in the UrBackup server. Then, download preconfigured client installer for Windows to the Windows client.

Next, double-click on the UrBackup Client Setup to install it. It’ll open the installer. Click on the Next button:

Follow the screen instructions and install your UrBackup client. After the installation, you’ll get a window inquiring what you want to back up. Configure it as per your preference and click on the Finish button:

Head back to the server’s web interface to see the client’s current status:

You’ve now successfully set up the UrBackup server and clients. Feel free to explore its web interface to discover other available options.

Try Other Backup Applications for Linux

If you don’t like UrBackup, you can use other backup applications for Linux, including Rsync, Timeshift, SparkleShare, Syncthing, and rclone. Similarly, for your Windows machine, you can also use different backup tools, including its default Windows File Recovery tool.

Image credit: Nimrach Chaudhry. All alterations and screenshots by Nimrah Chaudhry.

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Nimrah Chaudhry

With 2+ years of experience, I’m a technical writer holding a Bachelor’s in Software Engineering and Cyber Security Certification. I’m passionate about simplifying Linux complexities into bite-sized wisdom for the community.