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Bacula
Bacula is an open-source network backup solution for mixed operating environments, supporting disk, tape, and cloud storage.
About Bacula
Bacula is a mature, enterprise-grade backup system that has been in active development for over two decades. It uses a client-server architecture where a central Director daemon manages backup jobs, schedules, and storage volumes. File daemons (clients) run on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Unix systems, sending data to Storage daemons that write to local disks, tape libraries, or cloud targets. A catalog database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, or SQLite) tracks every file, restore point, and job history. What sets Bacula apart from simpler tools is its fine-grained control over backup policies: you can define pools, retention periods, and volume recycling rules by hand. It also supports encrypted backups, compression, and pre/post scripts. The licensing model is AGPLv3, with paid enterprise subscriptions from the company Bacula Systems offering GUI management, commercial support, and added features like NDMP backups. Setup can be complex because configuration is done through flat text files, but once running it is extremely reliable. Notable users include CERN and many universities. The current stable release as of late 2024 is version 15.0.2.
Backup Solutions
Quick Facts
- Pricing
- Open Source
- License
- Open Source
- Platform
- Any Platform
- Version
- 15.0.2
- Developer
- Bacula Systems / Bacula Project