Can Duplicati automatically run off the server or must backup be initiated by workstations?
Welcome to the forum @Carlos_Collazo
Which systems need backup? Do you have an idea of what the backup destination will be? What OS?
Especially for Windows, putting Duplicati on the system being backed up has a variety of advantages.
Actually initiating backups has many options including scheduled in GUI or Task Scheduler, or manual.
Ideally I would like to run a server on Linux with a Raid that controls and backs up Windows Linux and Mac clients without having to have the client initiate the backup. There is URBackup that seems to be able to do this. I was wondering if Duplicati has that capability?
I don’t know it that well, but I think its architecture is different. Duplicati is more of an integrated system (compared to UrBackup client and server) which can backup to many destinations, including remotes. Destination is assumed to be very ordinary storage, so many types qualify. Backup work is in Duplicati.
Using the search box on this forum will probably find some people askng to backup UrBackup backups.
Despite my comments, this concept is still hazy. No manual work is needed. It can be scheduled many different ways. It can be done by hand remotely. It can be done remotely from scripts. What’s the goal?
What’s the restore plan, by the way? Duplicati, as an integrated system, works smoothly for self-serve, however if you don’t want users to do anything, administrators can do restores, depending on the need.
Different ways to make a Duplicati backup might be worth reading. It lists some of the ways to do things.
EDIT:
So let’s look at the UrBackup manual to see what it says about the server initiating the backup of a client:
The server detects that the time to the last incremental backup is larger than
could be done by Duplicati all on the client side, using Task Scheduler, or Duplicati Server, or its Tray Icon.
The difference is that instead of the UrBackup server having to get the client going, the client does its own.
Instead of UrBackup backing up to the UrBackup server, Duplicati on client backs up up to chosen storage. Monitoring is available in various ways, free and paid. Anomaly detection will be available from Duplicati Inc.
Remote administration (such as changing configuration) beyond scheduled backups can be done by web browser connecting to the client to login and administer things. I guess UrBackup browser goes to server.
Connectivity is needed in both cases. I’m hoping all the systems are on LAN or otherwise well-connected, because connectivity for scattered remote Internet locations will be more limiting, at least for Duplicati, as central administration would typically get blocked by a router or a firewall preventing inbound connections.
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