Enhanced Simple LVM Backup System with Borg Support

A reliable, straightforward backup system for LVM-enabled Linux systems. Born from the need for simple, dependable backups without complex logic that can cause system issues.

Philosophy

Simple is better. This system does exactly three things:

1. Create LVM snapshot
2. Copy data (dd/pv for raw, Borg for repositories)
3. Clean up snapshot

No complex migration logic, no fancy features that can break. Just reliable backups.

Features

Five Backup Modes

• LV → LV: Update existing logical volume backups
• LV → Raw: Create fresh backups on raw devices
• VG → Raw: Clone entire volume groups with LVM metadata
• LV → Borg: Backup logical volume block device to Borg repository (preserves exact block-level state)
• VG → Borg: Backup all block devices from volume group to Borg repository

Two Interfaces

• GUI: simple_backup_gui.py - User-friendly interface with Borg configuration
• CLI: enhanced_simple_backup.sh - Command-line power user interface

Quick Start

1. See Available Options

sudo ./list_drives.sh

2. Choose Your Backup Mode

Update existing backup:

sudo ./enhanced_simple_backup.sh lv-to-lv /dev/internal-vg/root /dev/backup-vg/root

Fresh backup to external drive:

sudo ./enhanced_simple_backup.sh lv-to-raw /dev/internal-vg/root /dev/sdb

Clone entire system:

sudo ./enhanced_simple_backup.sh vg-to-raw internal-vg /dev/sdb

Use the GUI:

sudo python3 simple_backup_gui.py

Borg repository backups (block-level):

# Create new Borg repo and backup LV as block device
sudo ./enhanced_simple_backup.sh lv-to-borg /dev/internal-vg/root /path/to/borg/repo --new-repo --encryption repokey --passphrase mypass

# Backup entire VG as multiple block devices to existing repo
sudo ./enhanced_simple_backup.sh vg-to-borg internal-vg /path/to/borg/repo --passphrase mypass

Key Difference:

• LV → Borg: Stores one snapshot as {lv_name}.img in a single archive
• VG → Borg: Creates separate archives for each LV (space-efficient, processes one LV at a time)

Files

Core System

• simple_backup_gui.py - GUI interface with mode selection
• enhanced_simple_backup.sh - CLI with three backup modes
• list_drives.sh - Helper to show available sources/targets
• SIMPLE_BACKUP_README.md - Detailed documentation

Legacy Files

• old_scripts/ - Previous complex implementations (archived)
• Various .md files - Documentation from previous iterations

Requirements

• LVM-enabled Linux system
• Root access (sudo)
• Python 3 + tkinter (for GUI)
• pv command (optional, for progress display)
• Borg Backup (for Borg modes): sudo apt install borgbackup

Safety Features

• Clear confirmations before destructive operations
• Automatic snapshot cleanup on errors
• Emergency stop functionality (GUI)
• Input validation and error handling

What This System Does NOT Do

• Complex migration between different LVM setups
• Automatic boot repair or GRUB handling
• Multiple backup formats or compression
• Network backups or cloud integration
• File-level incremental backups

For those features, use dedicated tools like Borg Backup, CloneZilla, or rsync.

Why This Approach?

Previous versions of this project included complex migration logic that occasionally caused system issues. This version returns to basics:

✅ Uses standard LVM commands only
✅ Minimal chance of errors
✅ Easy to understand and debug
✅ Predictable behavior
✅ No hidden "smart" features

Recovery

From LV Backup

Mount the backup LV and copy files, or use it to restore your system.

From Raw Device Backup

Boot directly from the device, or restore using dd in reverse.

From VG Clone

Import the volume group or boot directly from the cloned device.

Contributing

Keep it simple. Any additions should follow the core principle: minimal logic, maximum reliability.

License

Open source - use and modify as needed.