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The manual for LuckyBackup is unclear about the difference between its snapshots and its normal backup process. I'm hoping a user can clarify.

  • The manual describes its normal backup operation as making an initial complete copy of everything specified. On subsequent backups, it only updates what has changed.
  • The manual describes its snapshots as saving a snapshot of the file collection at a specific point in time, which can be restored to that point.

I interpreted these as two different modes of operation -- either you can have it maintain a single running match to the current system, or you can have it make a user-defined number of point copies.

I configured LuckyBackup to save four snapshots, expecting that it would create four separate directories, each containing all the files comprising a specific snapshot. That's not what happened. Instead, it created a single, generic directory labelled with my user name and no other identifying indicator of a snapshot number or date. It saved the initial collection of files in this directory, and the directory name suggests that subsequent snapshots will not be saved in other, segregated directories.

So either it isn't working as expected, or it uses a different mechanism than what I expected. It's possible that the mechanism for snapshots is just a variation on the normal backup process.

In that case, what is saved in each snapshot is just the collection of changes that differentiate that snapshot. Snapshot 1 is the original saved collection. Snapshot 2 is the changes in the first update. Four snapshots is really just saving the original collection plus three sets of changes, rather than immediately rolling those changes into the original. When you want snapshot 3, it produces the composite associated with the original collection plus the changes in the first two updates. At update 5, snapshot 2 is rolled into the original and a new update is saved.

My question: are normal backups and snapshots in LuckyBackup two alternate methods of operation, as described in the first two bullets (and it isn't working), or are LuckyBackup snapshots just separately preserved batches of changes as described in the paragraph above?

fixer1234
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2 Answers2

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LuckyBackup does not save snapshots in the form of the collection of files at a point in time that you can directly use for your own purposes. Rather, it saves a limited-purpose "snapshot kit" that LuckyBackup can reassemble into a snapshot and restore to the source. So for example, what LuckyBackup saves in snapshot mode does not lend itself to a purpose such as conveniently retrieving the version of a file as it existed on a specific date.

In the initial backup, the application makes a complete copy of all the files defined as the source. Subsequent backups then copy only changes from the baseline.

A "normal" backup rolls those changes into the baseline set immediately, maintaining a running match to what is in the source. The snapshot option keeps a user-defined number of the most recent change sets separate from the baseline set. LuckyBackup recreates the file collection at a given point in time from the baseline collection and the applicable sets of changes.

fixer1234
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I'm just looking into this, and I find that LuckyBackup does save previous versions of changed files. They are located on the backup medium in a hidden directory named .luckybackup-snapshots. Seems that every time I run a backup it creates a new sub-directory, named for date and time, and puts the older version of changed files in there, properly filed under directory name. The main (not hidden) backup directory thus contains the most recent version of changed files, but older versions are accessible in the hidden directory. I haven't fully confirmed this yet, but initially it looks like it works this way.

Greg Blee
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