At Hostinger, we prioritize the security of our client data and the efficient operation of our data infrastructure. As part of our effort, we recently conducted an in-depth analysis comparing two popular data backup solutions, Borg and Restic.
This blog post explores the performance differences between the two, focusing on Restic as an alternative for shared hosting client backups.
Store more for less
Both Restic and Borg utilize deduplication. The difference is in the implementation of the backup service. At Borg, each user has their own backup repository, which can result in duplicate data between repositories. Restic, on the other hand, opts for a shared repository approach where a specific group of users shares her S3 bucket. As evidenced by our findings, this greatly enhances deduplication opportunities.
We compared the average repository size for both Restic and Borg backups.In the Netherlands, the average size of a 100-user Restic repository is 127.07 GiBOn the other hand, the average size of a single-user Borg repository is 2.08 GiB. This shows the potential for Restic to utilize storage more efficiently.
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We also compared the storage efficiency of Restic and Borg backups in different data centers. Restic’s performance is impressive, requiring only about 58% Storage space required for Borg to store the same amount of client data.
Factors such as data replication contribute to this result. Large data centers can benefit from Restic with storage optimization techniques such as erasure coding. By comparison, each of our Borg backup servers relied on traditional Raid technology.
The end result is that Ceph-based backups will become more reliable and efficient, literally allowing you to store more data with fewer resources.
bytes per byte
Transferring backups over the network is an important aspect to consider. Our analysis revealed that both Restic and Borg performed similarly in terms of data traffic.For example, in a growing data center like ours in India, weekly Restic and Borg traffic is about 7-8% Space occupied by all files on all servers.
say goodbye to errors
Unlike Borg, the Restic repository showed no cases of corruption in our analysis. Additionally, the transition from Borg to Restic turned out to be seamless from a client-side perspective, allowing reuse of existing Borg backup servers within the Ceph infrastructure.
Speed matters in business
Restic used slightly more CPU and RAM, but stood out for its faster backup creation time.average is approximately 111.517 secondscompared to the Borg 211.332 seconds. This speed improvement not only improves overall efficiency, but also ensures timely backups.
Conclusion
We love optimization at Hostinger. We strive for the most effective solutions and Restic proves it. It delivers higher deduplication rates, better storage efficiency, faster backup creation times, and higher reliability than comparable solutions.
We will continue to actively monitor the performance of our tech stack and will keep you updated in future blog posts. If you have any questions or concerns regarding Restic or our technology, please leave a comment.