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Backup Strategy (3-2-1 Method)

A reliable backup strategy is critical in a homelab environment, where data loss can occur due to hardware failure, misconfiguration, accidental deletion, or security incidents. To mitigate these risks, this homelab follows the 3-2-1 backup methodology, a widely accepted best practice for data protection.

What is the 3-2-1 Backup Method?​

The 3-2-1 rule states that you should have:

  • 3 copies of your data – the original data plus two backups
  • 2 different types of storage media – to avoid a single point of failure
  • 1 offsite copy – to protect against site-wide disasters

This approach ensures redundancy, resilience, and recoverability across a wide range of failure scenarios.

How This Homelab Implements 3-2-1​

This homelab achieves the 3-2-1 strategy through the following setup:

  1. Primary (Production Data)
    The live data stored on the main server and services.

  2. Local Backup (Backrest)
    A full backup of the production data is performed using Backrest, stored on a physically separate local hard drive. This allows for fast restores in the event of data corruption or accidental deletion.

  3. Offsite Cloud Backup
    An additional copy of the backups is synchronised to cloud storage, providing protection against physical disasters such as fire, theft, or total system failure.

Summary​

By maintaining three independent copies of data across separate storage systems, with one copy stored offsite, this homelab follows the 3-2-1 backup rule. This ensures that data can be recovered from both common failures and worst-case scenarios, while balancing performance, cost, and reliability.