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Backup & disaster recovery

Bareos

Open-source client-server backup at enterprise scale — disk, tape or cloud.

open sourcedesktop

Reviewed by Giuseppe Tommaso Curella, Infrastructure & network engineer Updated 2026-11-05

Official site www.bareos.com

Independent reference — this page is a review. Bareos is downloaded from the vendor’s official site, not from here.

PlatformsLinux server; clients for Linux/Windows/macOS/BSD/Solaris/AIX; web UI
LicenceOpen source — AGPLv3
PriceFree; optional subscription / support
SectionBackup & disaster recovery
Updated2026-11-05

What it is

Bacula’s community fork grew into open-source client-server backup at enterprise scale. It centralises dozens of machines to disk, tape or cloud, with a web interface and flexible retention policies.

Problems it closes

  • You want open-source, enterprise-grade backup with no per-client licence fees.
  • Backups have to land on disk, tape and cloud under one policy engine.
  • Dozens of mixed Linux and Windows clients need backing up from a single point.

How administrators run it

  • Run the director and storage daemon on Linux, and push a file daemon to each client.
  • Set job, schedule and retention policies in config.
  • Kick off and watch jobs from the web UI.
Bareos web UI dashboard
Screenshot: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Strengths & trade-offs

Strengths

  • Free and open source — a maintained Bacula fork.
  • Disk, tape and cloud all work as targets.
  • Scales to many clients across operating systems.

Trade-offs

  • Configuration is involved and the learning curve is real.
  • Tape and large rollouts need planning.

Common questions

How does it differ from Bacula?

It’s a community fork with open development, extra features and a web UI.

Can you buy support?

Yes. The software is free, with optional paid subscription and support.

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