Relax-and-Recover
What Relax-and-Recover is
Relax-and-Recover (ReaR) creates bootable disaster recovery images for restoring Linux systems to replacement physical or virtual hardware. During recovery, it recreates the storage layout, restores system data from a backup program, and installs a boot loader. It is designed as a system administrator tool, particularly for enterprise Linux distributions such as RHEL and SLES. Recovery can use guided menus or run unattended for larger deployments, and can move between physical and virtual systems, including KVM, Xen, and VMware. Boot media options include ISO, USB, eSATA, bootable tape, and PXE. Built-in backup methods include tar and rsync, with integrations such as Bacula, Borg, Commvault, NetBackup, and Veeam. Storage support includes RAID, LVM, multipathing, DRBD, iSCSI, and LUKS encrypted partitions and filesystems. ReaR is free, GPL-licensed, Linux-based software written in Bash with a modular design. It must run as root; users are responsible for protecting its configuration files and rescue media.
Who it suits
ReaR suits system administrators responsible for recovering Linux systems, especially in environments using enterprise distributions such as RHEL or SLES. Its unattended recovery option is relevant to larger deployments.
What it does well
- Free and GPL-licensed
- Supports guided and unattended recovery
- Recovers between physical and virtual systems
- Supports ISO, USB, tape, and PXE media
- Integrates with several backup programs
What to know first
- Runs on Linux only
- Must run as root
- Users must protect configuration files and rescue media
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Relax-and-Recover | GPL licensed · Linux disaster recovery framework | Free |
As relax-and-recover.org lists them, read 10 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Visit https://relax-and-recover.org/.
- Install ReaR using packages from GitHub Releases or a Linux distribution repository.
- Configure the backup program and recovery settings for your system.
- Create recovery media using a supported option such as ISO, USB, or PXE.
- Protect ReaR configuration files and recovery media.
Verdict
ReaR provides a broad recovery workflow across physical and virtual Linux systems, with multiple boot media and backup integrations. Administrators need to run it with root privileges and safeguard its configuration and rescue media.
Questions
How much does ReaR cost?
The listed plan is free, and ReaR is GPL licensed.
Which operating systems does ReaR support?
ReaR supports Linux.
Which backup programs can ReaR use?
Built-in methods include tar and rsync. Listed integrations include Bacula, Borg, Commvault, NetBackup, and Veeam.
Can ReaR recover between physical and virtual systems?
Yes. It lists physical-to-virtual, virtual-to-physical, physical-to-physical, and virtual-to-virtual recovery, including KVM, Xen, and VMware.
What license does ReaR use?
The project states that ReaR is licensed under GNU General Public License version 3 or later.
Where can I get ReaR?
The project lists packages through GitHub Releases and Linux distribution repositories.
Facts from Relax-and-Recover's own pages
- Automation
- The maker says fully unattended recovery is possible for large deployments, with guided menus available when needed. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Backup integrations
- Supported backup methods include tar, rsync, Bacula, Bareos, Borg, Commvault, Veeam, IBM Storage Protect, and other listed tools. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Backup scope
- ReaR complements backup and restore with bare metal recovery, and the maker says it is not backup management software. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Central management
- ReaR integrates with Disaster Recovery Linux Manager, which can centrally manage ReaR deployments. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Computer backup
- Yes · relax-and-recover.org, 23 Sept 2026
- Current release
- The download page states that ReaR v2.9 was released in January 2025 and provides packages through GitHub Releases and Linux distribution repositories. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Disk layouts
- Supported disk layout technologies include hardware and software RAID, LVM, multipathing, DRBD, iSCSI, and LUKS encrypted partitions and filesystems. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- ReaR is written in Bash and has a modular design that the maker says can be extended with custom functionality. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2006 · relax-and-recover.org, 28 Sept 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · relax-and-recover.org, 23 Sept 2026
- Hardware recovery
- The maker lists physical-to-virtual, virtual-to-physical, physical-to-physical, and virtual-to-virtual recovery, including KVM, Xen, and VMware. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project describes ReaR as a system administrator tool and framework, used in particular on enterprise Linux distributions such as RHEL and SLES. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- License
- The security page states ReaR is licensed under GNU General Public License version 3 or later. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Licensing
- The project says ReaR is GPL licensed and welcomes feedback and contributions. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Media and transport
- Supported boot media include ISO, USB, eSATA, bootable tape, and PXE; listed transport methods include HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SFTP, NFS, and CIFS/SMB. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Monitoring and scheduling
- The project describes monitoring examples for Nagios/Opsview and scheduling image recreation and transfer with cron. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- Linux · relax-and-recover.org, 23 Sept 2026
- Purpose
- ReaR creates bootable disaster recovery images for bare-metal recovery with data restore on physical or virtual replacement hardware. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Recovery media
- Supported boot media include ISO, USB, eSATA, bootable tape, and PXE. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Recovery modes
- It supports guided or fully unattended recovery and physical-to-virtual, virtual-to-physical, physical-to-physical, and virtual-to-virtual recovery. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Recovery workflow
- Recovery recreates the storage layout, restores system files from a backup program, and installs a boot loader. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
- Release
- The download page says ReaR v2.9 was released in January 2025 and packages are available through GitHub Releases. · relax-and-recover.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Restore modes
- mixed · relax-and-recover.org, 23 Sept 2026
- Security
- ReaR exposes no network services or ports and must run as root; its rescue media omits secrets by default, though secrets can be configured into it. · relax-and-recover.org, 10 Oct 2026
Where Relax-and-Recover stands on Freedom251
- Backup software#58 of 151
- Disk Imaging Software#16 of 30