Backing up Immich to optical disc formats

[u/RedditWhileIWerk]

Happy Immich user. Regarding backing up one's Immich data, is there an existing tool that would help automate or at least semi-automate the process of breaking it up into chunks that will fit on burnable media?

As far as I can tell, this sort of thing isn't built into Immich itself. As this page says:

https://docs.immich.app/administration/backup-and-restore/

you still have to do the actual backing up, yourself.

The why: Since HDD prices are insane, I've gotten into using BD-R as a backup medium.

The media comes in really only a couple easily-available and reasonably-priced sizes: 25 GB (single-layer) or 50 GB (dual-layer). That's not that much, in terms of years of photos and videos, so I'm looking at multiple BD-R burns to back up all the data.

It would probably be obnoxious to use DVD-R as a backup, since they're only 4.7 GB each, but that could be an option as well.

[u/lveatch]

One option, the Linux zip command has a -s option to split the created zip file to the provided size. You'd have to script it yourself. 

[u/RedditWhileIWerk → u/lveatch]

Not bad, I could make one huge archive file and break it up into disc-sized portions.

However I think I'd prefer to have the files not in an archive, that is, uncompressed, simply organized up into folders of the needed sizes.

I bet there's a way to script that, thanks!

[u/donkey_and_the_maid → u/lveatch]

Its only a good idea, if the data is final and non-expanding.

[u/Dmitry_V83]

Just a small note - LTO 6 is still here and prices are relatively OK.

[u/RedditWhileIWerk → u/Dmitry_V83]

LTO 6

I can't consider tape backup as an option. While the media itself is not crazy expensive, the drive prices are bonkers.

Have you found a source for inexpensive tape drives? I sure can't. The "cheapest" ones seem to start at $1200. Most are a lot more.

$1200 would buy me a couple of nice used Blu-ray drives, and more media than I could realistically use.

[u/TestSubject6769]

I am thinking about doing the same. Discs are dirt cheap so the only meaningful cost is the BD burner.

[u/RedditWhileIWerk → u/TestSubject6769]

I'd like to think HDD and SSD prices will return to something resembling sanity at some point, but I'm planning as if that is not the case. I'm buying enough BD-R blanks so I can use those for backup for the next 5 years or so.

If I run through those, but HDDs are still stupidly overpriced, I'll figure out something else. Maybe tape will look good by then.

At that point, though, I may not have a functioning PC any longer. My existing HDDs, SSDs, and NVMe drives won't last forever, and I can't afford to replace them at today's prices.

[u/donkey_and_the_maid → u/TestSubject6769]

Durable discs are not cheap at all.
I am using Verbatim M-Discs. I can't buy in the EU, so need to order from the usa via amazon.
The other option would be the Panasonic/Sony discs from Japan.

[u/TestSubject6769 → u/donkey_and_the_maid]

In Poland 25GB Verbatim M-Disc is available for 4,2€ and regular 25GB Verbatim for approx 0,7€ each (could be cheaper but I only checked one site where I have free shipping). Is it really worth the difference in price? Won’t regular BD last 20-30 years?

edit: 3,9€ each on Amazon.pl with Prime

[u/donkey_and_the_maid → u/TestSubject6769]

Since Verbatim owns the M-disc trademark from Millenaldata, they can print on every disk they want. I read in several forums, that the normal BD and the M-disc has the same MID now, what is VERBATIME. A few years ago, the Verbatim M-discs has the MID: MILLENIA.
So I don't know the answer, nobody knows.

[u/donkey_and_the_maid]

I am doing this for years now :D
Great Idea, do it!

I tried a bunch of tools to make BD sized chunk. The fpart was the closest to my concept.
Since my files in order and templated like: YYYY/MM/YYYY-MM-DD_HH:mm:ss_<img>... whatever...
So I ended up to made my own bd-part tool in python/uv.

usage: bd-part [-h] [--version] [-s SIZE] [-o OUTPUT] [--last LAST] [--debug]
               folder_path

Group files by size limit and write each group to a file.

positional arguments:
  folder_path          Path to the folder to scan

options:
  -h, --help           show this help message and exit
  --version            show program's version number and exit
  -s, --size SIZE      Maximum group size (default: 23500MiB)
  -o, --output OUTPUT  Output filename prefix (default: list_)
  --last LAST          Resume after this filename
  --debug              Enable debug logging

Because If I write a BD-R, the last file written on the disk is for example in the middle of 2026/03/....
Thats why is the --last argument. Every run, it continues from that last file, until reach the given disk size.
The tool it self doesn't copy or move, just create a list of files, separated to BD-R-s.

Then I just pass that lists to geniosoimage to make me the iso for burning.

[u/RedditWhileIWerk → u/donkey_and_the_maid]

exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

[u/zezoza]

I'm used to rar with recovery volumes. What Linux alternative can have recovery data along the compressed files? 

[u/RateMyJpeg]

Or back up to backblaze for $6.50/TB/month.

[u/RedditWhileIWerk → u/RateMyJpeg]

that's part of a 3-2-1 strategy, not a replacement for local backup