On a local server at home, it's a low powered ARM box (QNAP TS-219 running Debian) with RAID1. The same thing could probably be done with a Raspberry Pi for lower costs if I was doing it now.
For database backups, you need a consistent snapshot of the data - something which might not happen if you attempt to access the data directly. Add a script to your daily crontab directory, such as:
Into a directory which rdiff-backup will download.
I always prefer to pull my backups from a local server I can trust instead of running a process on the server to push backups - if someone gains access to the server they could potentially destroy the backups if all the credentials are left on the server.
For database backups, you need a consistent snapshot of the data - something which might not happen if you attempt to access the data directly. Add a script to your daily crontab directory, such as:
mysqldump --skip-extended-insert --all-databases --single-transaction --master-data=2 --flush-logs | gzip -9 --rsyncable > backup.sql.gz
Or:
sudo -u postgres pg_dumpall | gzip -9 --rsyncable > backup.sql.gz
Into a directory which rdiff-backup will download.
I always prefer to pull my backups from a local server I can trust instead of running a process on the server to push backups - if someone gains access to the server they could potentially destroy the backups if all the credentials are left on the server.