maksit-lto-backup/README.md

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# MaksIT.LTO.Backup
A C# application designed to facilitate backup and restore operations to an LTO tape drive. This application enables seamless management of backups by handling file organization, descriptor creation, and efficient tape handling processes for loading, writing, and restoring data.
## Features
- **Load and Eject Tape**: Safely loads and unloads the tape using `TapeDeviceHandler`.
- **Backup Operation**: Allows users to create a descriptor file for organizing file metadata and backs up files to the LTO tape in structured blocks.
- **Restore Operation**: Reads data from the tape and restores files to a specified directory, reconstructing original file structure.
- **Customizable Block Sizes**: Supports multiple LTO generations, allowing customization of block sizes based on the tape generation (e.g., LTO-6).
- **File Descriptor Management**: Metadata is organized for each file, including file paths, sizes, creation, and modification times.
- **Zero-Filled End Blocks**: Marks the end of a backup with zero-filled blocks to assist with reading and integrity checks.
## Requirements
- .NET8 or higher
- JSON configuration files: `configuration.json` and `descriptor.json` (auto-generated)
- LTO Tape Drive and compatible drivers
## Setup
1. Clone the repository:
```bash
git clone https://github.com/your-username/MaksIT.LTO.Backup.git
```
2. Ensure `.NET Core` is installed on your system.
3. Prepare a `configuration.json` file in the application directory with the following structure:
```json
{
"TapePath": "YourTapePath",
"Backups": [
{
"Name": "BackupName",
"Barcode": "123456",
"Source": "path/to/source",
"Destination": "path/to/destination",
"LTOGen": "LTO6"
}
]
}
```
## Usage
### Running the Application
Execute the application by navigating to the project directory and running:
```bash
dotnet run
```
### Application Menu
Upon running, the following options will be presented:
1. **Load Tape**: Loads the tape into the drive.
2. **Backup**: Prompts the user to select a backup task from the configured list and initiates the backup process.
3. **Restore**: Restores a previously backed-up directory from the tape.
4. **Eject Tape**: Ejects the tape from the drive safely.
5. **Exit**: Exits the application.
### Code Overview
- **Application Class**: Main class handling backup and restore functionalities. Provides methods like `LoadTape`, `EjectTape`, `Backup`, `Restore`, `CreateDescriptor`, `WriteFilesToTape`, and `FindDescriptor`.
- **TapeDeviceHandler**: Controls tape device operations such as setting positions, writing data, and reading data.
- **BackupDescriptor**: Organizes metadata for backed-up files. Used to log details about each file block on tape.
### Sample Configuration
Below is an example configuration setup for an LTO-6 tape generation backup operation:
```json
{
"TapePath": "\\\\.\\Tape0",
"Backups": [
{
"Name": "Monthly Backup",
"Barcode": "MB12345",
"Source": "/path/to/source",
"Destination": "/path/to/restore",
"LTOGen": "LTO6"
}
]
}
```
### Error Handling
Errors during backup or restore are caught and logged to the console. Ensure that your `TapeDeviceHandler` is correctly configured and that the tape drive is accessible.
## License
This project is licensed under the terms of the GPLv2. See the [LICENSE](./LICENSE) file for full details.
© Maksym Sadovnychyy (MAKS-IT) 2024