Net Farm

Bareos

Open-source, client-server enterprise backup to disk, tape or cloud.

open source desktop download

What it is

Bareos (a fork of Bacula) is an open-source, client-server backup system at enterprise scale. It centralises backup of dozens of machines to disk, tape or cloud, with a web interface and flexible retention policies.

Problems it solves

  • You want open-source, enterprise-grade backup with no per-client licence fees.
  • Backups must land on disk, tape and cloud under one policy engine.
  • Dozens of mixed Linux and Windows clients need backing up centrally.

How administrators use it

  • Run the director and storage daemon on Linux and deploy a file daemon to each client.
  • Define job, schedule and retention policies in configuration.
  • Manage and monitor jobs from the web UI.
Bareos web UI dashboard
Screenshot: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths

  • Free and open source (a maintained fork of Bacula).
  • Disk, tape and cloud targets.
  • Scales to many clients across operating systems.

Trade-offs

  • Configuration is involved — there is a real learning curve.
  • Tape and large deployments need planning.

Questions

How is Bareos different from Bacula?

It is a community fork of Bacula with open development, added features and a web UI.

Is commercial support available?

Yes — the software is free, with optional paid subscription and support.

Alternatives