Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about backups, Bareos, and Onesimus — from basics to advanced topics.
Backup Basics
Why do I need backups?
Data loss happens to everyone — hardware failures, ransomware, human error, natural disasters. Without a backup, lost data is gone permanently. The cost of a backup solution is always less than the cost of rebuilding lost data — if it can even be rebuilt. Read more about why backups matter →
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Keep 3 copies of your data on 2 different media types with 1 copy offsite. This protects against any single point of failure — a hardware crash, a site disaster, or a ransomware attack can’t destroy all copies at once. Learn more about the 3-2-1 rule →
What's the difference between Full, Incremental, and Differential backups?
- Full: Backs up everything. Slow, uses the most storage, but fastest to restore.
- Incremental: Backs up only changes since the last backup. Fast and efficient, but restore requires the full chain.
- Differential: Backs up all changes since the last Full. A middle ground — moderate storage, quick restore.
How long should I keep my backups?
It depends on your data type and regulatory requirements. Development servers might only need 7 days, while financial records may require 7 years. Start with the question: “What’s the oldest data I’d ever need to restore?” Read about retention strategies →
What are pools and volumes?
Pools are logical groupings of backup storage — like filing cabinets. Volumes are the actual storage units within pools — like the folders in those cabinets. This organization lets you apply different retention, size limits, and storage targets to different backup types. Full explanation →
About Bareos
What is Bareos?
Bareos (Backup Archiving Recovery Open Sourced) is an open source network backup solution. It manages backups across multiple clients, supports tape and disk storage, and provides fine-grained scheduling and retention control. It’s a fork of the original Bacula project, actively maintained and developed.
What components does Bareos have?
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| Director | Central control — manages schedules, clients, pools |
| Storage Daemon (SD) | Handles storage devices — writes and reads backup data |
| File Daemon (FD) | Runs on each client — reads files to back up |
| Catalog | PostgreSQL database — tracks all jobs, files, volumes |
| Console | Administration interface — bconsole (CLI) or WebUI |
Onesimus connects to the Director via bconsole protocol, replacing the CLI with a visual interface.
Do I need bconsole if I use Onesimus?
No. Onesimus speaks the bconsole protocol directly. You connect to the Director the same way bconsole does — with the same credentials, the same TLS settings, the same permissions. Everything you can do in bconsole, you can do in Onesimus.
That said, bconsole remains useful for scripting and automation where a CLI is preferred.
About Onesimus
Is Onesimus free?
Yes. The Community edition is open source under the MIT license and will always be free. It includes job management, schedule visualization, restore wizard, TLS security, and multi-language support.
What's the difference between Community, Pro, and Enterprise?
| Tier | Focus | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Community | Management interface — jobs, clients, schedules, restore, collision detection, Multi-Director | Available now (alpha) |
| Pro | Storage intelligence — pool visualization, consumption analysis, growth trends | Planned |
| Enterprise | Scale — simultaneous Director connections, capacity planning, retention simulation | Long-term vision |
Community gives you a modern UI with schedule conflict detection and Multi-Director support. Pro answers the 5 storage questions. Enterprise adds simultaneous Director connections and scales across infrastructure.
What does "alpha" mean?
Onesimus is functional but still in early development. Core features work, but expect rough edges, breaking changes, and incomplete features. We develop in the open and welcome feedback, bug reports, and contributions.
Which platforms are supported?
- Linux: AppImage, .deb packages, or build from source
- Windows: Native build with Visual Studio 2022
- macOS: Homebrew-compatible build with Qt6
All platforms use the same codebase. Qt 6.8+ is required.
What is Onesimus-WEB?
A planned browser-based version built with Django and HTMX. It will offer the same management features without a desktop installation. Also open source, also in the future — the Desktop Community edition comes first.
Can I contribute?
Absolutely. We develop in the open on GitHub. Open an issue, start a discussion, or submit a pull request. Translations, bug reports, documentation, and code contributions are all welcome.
Security
How does Onesimus connect to Bareos?
Onesimus connects directly to the Bareos Director using the bconsole protocol over TCP. The connection can be secured with:
- TLS-PSK (Pre-Shared Key) — the same password from your bconsole.conf
- X.509 certificates — CA + client certificate for enterprise environments
OpenSSL 3.6 is statically linked — no dependency on the system’s OpenSSL version.
Does Onesimus access the database directly?
No. Onesimus never sends SQL queries and never accesses the Bareos catalog (PostgreSQL) directly. All data is retrieved exclusively through the native Bareos API — the same protocol interface that bconsole uses.
This means: every action Onesimus performs goes through the Bareos Director and is subject to the full Bareos audit trail. Permission checks (ACLs), logging, and access control apply exactly as they do with bconsole. Onesimus cannot do anything the configured console user isn’t allowed to do — and everything it does is logged by the Director.
Does Onesimus store my credentials?
Connection profiles (including passwords and certificate paths) are stored locally using Qt’s QSettings. On Linux, this is a file in your home directory. On Windows, it’s the registry. Onesimus never sends credentials to any external service.
Can I restrict what Onesimus can do?
Yes — through Bareos ACLs. The console user you connect with determines what commands, clients, pools, and storage devices are accessible. Onesimus respects these ACLs and shows the “My Permissions” dialog so you can see exactly what your user can do.