[03:55] <cjopcjop> nobody really frequents this room eh? unfortunate as #ubuntu is just too big to get good follow up information
[03:58] <BobJonkman> Hi cjopcjop!
[03:58] <BobJonkman> Lots of people idling; you've just got to get us at the right moment
[03:59] <cjopcjop> Oh good!
[03:59] <cjopcjop> Then I shall stick around
[04:00] <cjopcjop> :)
[04:00] <cjopcjop> question for you then bobjonkman
[04:01] <cjopcjop> what would be the best method to backup my server onto an external HD that would allow for an easy re-install?
[04:02] <BobJonkman> I back up with rsync (manually, although I have a handy script)
[04:04] <BobJonkman> But if I'm planning on re-installing then I'll use `dpkg --getselections` to get a list of current software installed, install a fresh system from CD/USB, then use `dpkg --setselections` to retrieve all the packages I had installed before.  Restore the data (including the hidden dot files in the home folder), and all the settings should be restored too.
[04:04] <BobJonkman> I might back up /etc separately, but I wouldn't restore it in bulk
[04:05] <BobJonkman> but that's simply because I know I've made a mess of the current installation and it's better to re-do than restore.
[04:07] <BobJonkman> Handy script: http://paste.ubuntu.com/5975988/
[04:27] <cjopcjop> Mmm.. cheers for the info!
[04:27] <cjopcjop> I was looking at a DRBL server w/ Clonezilla and for my petty little 320gb server, it seems.. oh, excessive :)
[04:28] <cjopcjop> so what does dpkg --getselections do exactly?
[04:28] <cjopcjop> just provide me with a list of my current installs?
[04:28] <cjopcjop> So data is back up via rsync
[04:29] <cjopcjop> I like your method, feels like you have some good control