Opitx - Documentation

Back Up Best Practices

The use of Back Ups is reccomended regardless of operating system, due to the fickle nature of technology and the assumed importance of the work the user is doing with their system. Opitx was designed to help give the user control of where they store their files, for purposes of creating more sustainable back ups. Here, a list of practices to help the user approach back ups effectively followed by a list of services and options to use to insure that the back ups are robust.

Back Up Best Practices
1. Use Remote Storage
2. Frequent and Regular Back Ups
3. Consider How Long to Keep Back Ups
4. Keep Back Ups Encrypted and Protected
5. Store Back Ups on Raid Arrays
6. Stack Your Back Up Solutions
7. Two Copies On Site and One Off Site

1. Use Remote Storage

This means that one should use back ups that are not physically in the location that your machine is. This prevents them from being susciptible to destruction if something destroys the machine, meaning that while the system is lost, the work that was done on it is not.

2. Frequent and Regular Back Ups

The user should back up their data as a force of habit in order to insure that the data is not lost for any purpose the other best practices are designed to prevent. Saving data to multiple locations after completing work, or before leaving for any reason, is generally the best method of accomplishing this.

3. Consider How Long to Keep Back Ups

When space is limited, which may not be a practical concern with notes, then it is best to consider how long one should keep back ups before getting rid of them to make room for additional items. Even with notes, there is a lifespan of utility for those notes that after which it is no longer necessary to keep them. Considering this, it is always good to include either a topic or date for later identification and classification of the note.

4. Keep Back Ups Encrypted and Protected

While not necessarily important if one is merely taking notes on code-related topics, it is still worthwhile to consider using some encryption when backing up to mitigate any potential malicious actors from acquiring data to obtain knowledge that could be used to gain insight into the creator of the data. One way is using encrypted back ups that gain their encryption through the back up service (such as Mega or Turtl) or by means of a separate encryption service.

5. Store Back Ups on RAID Arrays

When setting up on site storage, the most robust manner of insuring no data loss is to use RAID arrays in RAID 1, which uses two or more harddrives copied in identical format providing access to the data regardless if there is a failure in a single drive.

6. Stack Your Back Up Solutions

Stacking back ups is another way to say that back up solutions should be redundant. Having just one back up makes for a single point of failure that means that the data is as vulnerable to catastrophe as not backing it up. Considering that the below listed options all have a free option, this does not entail any expense other than the extra few seconds of using the extra storage method.

7. Two Copies On Site and One Off Site

This is a minimal reccomendation, as having more than one off site back up is not much additional work nor additional cost. Nevertheless, data should at least be backed up in an arrangement such as having a copy on the system it was made, an external/extra harddrive and one remote service. This insures that the data is insulated against most common causes of catastrophic data loss.

Back Up Solutions

Dropbox

Dropbox provides the user with a seamless Linux desktop experience. While the free account does provide the user with only 2 GB of space, this comes without requiring additional work and the desktop client is easy to use and leaves a directory in your /home/ folder that can easily be the point into which you deposit your notes. At 2GB, so long as the user is only depositing notes then it is more than enough storage.

Mega

While raved about on clickbait Linux sites, this option is the author's least favorite due to the time limits on the "extra" storage it gives users after they accomplish certain tasks. With its Linux desktop support, it is an option, though be forewarned that its desktop client can be a resource hog. Additionally, the user should be aware that in cases of data clearing, the quickest that items can be removed from the "rubbish bin" is 7 days and so it is possible for the account to become jammed with useless files, making additional storage with this option a little more hairy. Should likely be used as a back up for a back up (unless willing to pay). This trash is also not accessible to the user, so any advanced deletion of the files before the seven days is also not possible. Offers encryption, making it a viable choice regardless.

GitHub

Using a GitHub account as a storage solution for notes is also possible. GitHub recognizes Markdown and will display it appropiately, like on Opitx, and makes the notes accessible to the rest of your team (or the world at large). This method may not insulate the notes from prying eyes, but unless you are using Opitx for some nefarious purpose (not recommended) then this should not be a problem. Simply store notes in a designated repo to utilize this back up solution with the version control functionality of Git baked right in.