Automating LXC Container Backups: A Step-by-Step Guide

Hello tech enthusiasts! Ever struggled with manual backups for LXC containers? In today's post, I'll demonstrate a seamless way to automate LXC container backups, making your life a tad easier.

Without further ado, let's delve into the script that I religiously use for this task:

#!/bin/bash
SHELL=/bin/bash
PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin

DATE=`date +%Y-%m-%d`
# The name of the container to be backed up
NAME=git.mytechnote.ru
lxc-stop -n $NAME
tar --numeric-owner -czvf /tmp/$DATE-$NAME.tar.gz /var/lib/lxc/lxc/$NAME
lxc-start -n $NAME
# Ensure the target folder for the backup exists
mv /tmp/$DATE-$NAME.tar.gz /mnt/backup/lxc/
RETENTION=$((21*24*60))
# Specify the number of backup copies to retain
KEEP=8
find /mnt/wd-backup/lxc -type f -printf '%T@ %p\n' -mmin +$RETENTION | sort -nr | tail -n +$KEEP | xargs -r rm

Here's a breakdown of the script's functions:

1. It momentarily halts the container.
2. Compresses the container's filesystem and configurations into a temporary location.
3. Shifts the compressed backup to a designated storage location, in this instance, a samba share at /mnt/wd-backup.

A heads-up for potential users: Make sure you adjust the container name, the default path (/var/lib/lxc), and the final backup storage location before running the script.

Please note that this script is primarily for demonstration purposes. In a production environment, the script should be refined, for instance, to use shadow copies so as not to stop the container.

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