Currently we cannot offer enough space for a total backup of your home folder, especially if you're saving large datasets, videos or other large size files. Also, ownCloud is not good for such large files. OwnCloud shines in small files.

The current minimum allocated space per user is 10GB. You can exceed it, but in case this happens you may be asked to reduce the backup size if required.

It does automatic versioning so you can go back and forth in time among the saved versions of the files.

The suggested way to use ownCloud for backup assumes these ideas:

• A folder called work in your home folder is the primary part of the filesystem to be backed up.
• You can add more folders to the owncloud backup if you want.
• on the ownCloud server you create a folder for each laptop that you want to synchronize, so that the folder structure on owncloud looks like this:
  • laptop1/
    • workonlaptop1/
  • laptop1-win/
  • workonWindowslaptop1/
  • laptop2/
    • workonlaptop2/

If you have software installed on the system, you may:

• install it locally inside your work folder
• just save in your work folder the software configuration required for it to work so that you can restore it
• add a synchronized folder to your ownCloud

You need a LUCAS account and the ownCloud desktop app installed.

1. Locate your home folder path:
   • On Linux, usually /home/username
   • On Windows, usually C:\Users\username
   • On MacOSX, usually /Users/username/
2. Create a work folder in your home or in your desktop, and note the full path
   • On Linux, usually /home/username/work/
   • On Windows, usually C:\Users\username\work\
   • On MacOSX, usually /Users/username/work/

Connect using your favourite web browser to https://cloud.lucas.lu.se and login with your LUCAS credentials. If it doesn't work contact Florido Paganelli

Take some time to browse around the folder structure. Typically there are already preloaded folders and a manual.

Start the desktop app.

• Use the following URL when asked: https://cloud.lucas.lu.se and click Next >
• TODOPIC
• Insert LUCAS username (usually your LUCAT ID) and password and click Next >
• TODOPIC

At this point the app will ask whether you want to synchronize everything from the server. This is only needed if you want to synchronize folders shared with you by other users.

Instead, for backup purposes I suggest to select “Manually create folder sync connections” and click on Connect… TODOPIC

In this section I will describe how to configure ownCloud to do a backup of the work folder. If you do not like this behavior, just change the “work folder” path below with whatever folder you want to backup.

You will be now presented with a dialog.

• Choose “Add folder sync connection”.
• When asked to pick a local folder on your computer to sync, write your work folder path that you noted as described in section Preparing your machine. Click on Next >
• The dialog “Select a remote destination folder” shows you the existing folders on the ownCloud server. I recommend you create a folder for each laptop in use to that you do not confuse the backups. You can choose your laptop name. Mine is louie so I will use that in the example below.
  • Click on Create Folder
  • Write your computer name or anything that identifies your machine (e.g. worklaptop, mylaptop, macbook etc. ) followed by the name of the folder you are backing up, for example work. In the example below I choose my hostname, louie and the work folder work
  • A new folder will appear on the server. Select the folder and click on Next >
  • If there is already data on the server, you typically have the chance to choose what to sync. This is usually not the case when setting up backup, as you created a new folder on the server.

At this point ownCloud will start synchronizing with the server. It may take quite a while before it's done if you already have data either on the server on on your local machine.

While ownCloud is running, you have the chance of deciding whether you do not want to synchronize a folder any longer.

• Right click on the ownCloud client icon TODO and choose Settings…
• Click on your account name
• For every remote folder (the one with the cloud) you will see a list of synchronized folders.
  • Simply un-tick the folder to stop ownCloud from synchronizing that folder.
  • Click on Apply
  • NOTE: the folder will not be synchronized, but the files uploaded so far are still on the server. You can see them by logging in into https://cloud.lucas.lu.se
  • TODOPIC
• You can at any time restart synchronizing the folder by ticking it again.

This needs to be done before adding folders to synchronize, or ownCloud will upload all the files under a certain folder. This is done using pattern matching. There is already a predefined set of excluded patterns in ownCloud.

• Click on the Settings gear to setup excluded folders
  • Click on Edit Ignored Files
  • Click on Add
  • Write nobackup or the name of the folder or file you want to exclude from backup.
  • Press OK
  • Any filename that contains the word nobackup in the path will be excluded by owncloud.
    • For example, the file test/test/nobackup/filename will not be backed up.
    • For example, the file test/thisisnobackups/filename will be backed up
• You can add any other folder to exclude. Below some suggestions for each operating system:
  • Linux: .cache, .thumbnails
  • Windows: TODO
  • MacOS X: TODO