iBackup: Just about Everything

I recently found myself in a situation where I needed a customizable backup solution. I did a quick search on the web and came up with a list of usual suspects (Carbon Copy Clone, SuperDuper and Apple Backup). None of which were able to meet my immediate needs. I began to search a little deeper and quickly stumbled upon a gem called iBackup. iBackups website listed several features that caught my eye right off the bat. A quickly download and installed application… I was ready to go!

iBackup is a lightweight application that packs a good punch if your looking for customizable backup solutions on a “personal scale”. Once installed and open the application has a familiar “finder” like look and feel to it. Changing the setting and preferences are a breeze from the main panel and many of the options are self explanatory.

The customizable plugins and profiles are the meat and potato’s that lurid me to writing about this application. Plug-ins allow your backup options to be unlimited and completely customizable. A simple XML template is provided from the website and custom backups can written by anybody with a basic understanding of XML. Profiles let you establish different types of backups (such as daily, weekly, monthly) with an unlimited range of parameters. Those two features alone make iBackup a valuable tool to have in your bag of tricks.

Backups are stored as exact structured copies of folders and files. Backups can also be written as Finder Backup Burnable Archives (.FPBF) files for easy burning to CDR or DVD. Both folder types can be indexed by spotlight and browsed through a standard Finder window.

I ran some quick tests on my 20 inch Intel iMac to see how fast iBackup could get the job done:

My Documents folder 248MB = 29 Seconds
Four 1hr TV episodes 1.3 GB = 1:39 Minutes
Entire iPhoto directory 9GB = 9:48 Minutes

iBackup will create about 1GB per min which is not blazing fast, but good for smaller jobs. I never intend on doing full system backups with this application so it will still very much suit my needs.

I can confidently say If you need a customizable backup solution spend a few minutes with this program and run some tests. I will bet it will stay in your Applications folder. iBackup is free for personal use (donations are accepted) and business users can contact the developer for licensing information. If you need a full system backup solution don’t forget to checkout MacApper’s recent article on SuperDuper by our own Josh Holloway.