Mediaboss Marketing

The free download for CrashPlan is a tarball archive. Uncompressing the package creates a folder with several text files explaining the process of installing the software. This method frees the user from having to select a version matching a particular Linux distro, but it also makes the product less accessible to inexperienced Linux users, who might abhor the command line and the terminal window.

CrashPlan is an automated backup system that does the job, but it's not without its pitfalls.

The software offers a cross-platform backup solution that's reliably easy to use once you configure the software. Installing it to your Linux system, however, is anything but user-friendly. More than a few Linux users will emerge looking for a less-finicky solution.

In addition, while the developer, Code 42, appears to adhere to the open source philosophy, you will face a big challenge if you try to locate the source code.

So, if you are an open source purist as a Linux user, using the no-cost local or free off-site storage plans could be worth sidestepping your views about such code purity. You can also meet more demanding backup needs with the company's paid Pro versions of the software.

CrashPlan automates the backup process. It monitors the files and folders you designate for backing up to your chosen location. You can select a manual backup or an incremental or fully automated backup schedule.

You can download free versions of CrashPlan for Mac OS X, Windows, OpenSolaris and Solaris in addition to the Linux OS. CrashPlan has a wide cross-platform reach. It also is available for mobile devices running the iOS, Android and Windows Phone platforms.

For Linux users, however, CrashPlan is relatively distro-unaware. That means you have to install it manually through terminal commands and execute the provided installation scripts.

I found CrashPlan to be an exercise in futility when first installing and configuring it. It's possible some of the difficulties I encountered may not occur in other platform variations, but since my primary focus was reviewing the Linux version, I did not test those other options.

Continue reading here:
CrashPlan: A Good - but Not Perfect - Linux Backup Plan