adding archival backup to SD

[ChrisRyland]

Originally Posted by dnanian

Thanks for the suggestion, Chris. While you might find a volume comprised of a lot of hard links "easy to use", I'm not sure less experienced users would agree... not only that, but this volume wouldn't be restorable using normal means.

I don't think you're quite seeing the simplicity of it, perhaps due to my terminology.

First, yes, don't call it a backup--that might confuse some people. It's an archive, not to be confused with a backup, and not to be depended on for a full restoration.

But, once you accept that it's a time-based archive, you can "go back in time" to any backup point, and descend one level into the state of the backed-up volume at that time. Once you're there, there are no links to worry about, just the exact hierarchy of the backed-up volume at that point in time. (The hard links are just an implementation detail of which the end user does not have to be aware at all.)