[docs] Add instructions to backup and restore workstation USBs using rsync

[zenmonkeykstop]

Status

Ready for review

Description of Changes

Fixes #4397 .

Changes proposed in this pull request: Docs changes to workstation backup instructions, to switch from manual drag-and-drop to rsync and include a section on restoring from a backup.

Testing

Docs-only PR:

• work through the documented process and verify that it produces a working Workstation USB
• review for clarity and correctness

Deployment

Will be deployed by standard docs build once merged.

Checklist

If you made changes to documentation:

• Doc linting (make docs-lint) passed locally

[eloquence]

Looks great to me on visual review. I'll take a pass tomorrow at following these instructions (both backup and restore). I have never backed up the Tails drives for my own test install, so this will be a useful exercise for me as well. :)

[eloquence]

Just making a note from my first pass review that I encountered issues with USB drives that use identical serial numbers being mapped to the same disk in Tails, which can confuse the GNOME Disks Tool, prevent ejecting drives in Nautilus, and probably has other unintended effects. When this happens, it's impossible to do the drive-jockeying work required for a backup. This appears to be the (likely WONTFIX) issue described in storaged-project/udisks#490 .

I don't know how common it is that USB drives from the same manufacturer share the same serial number string; it happened to me with these TOPESEL drives. I don't think we need to address it in this PR, but given that many news organizations are likely to order a batch of USB drives from a single manufacturer, I don't think we can rule it out as an obscure scenario, so I'll submit a follow-up docs PR to add a very small note as a precautionary measure.

[eloquence]

Another quick note from following the instructions: "Click on the disk on the left side column" should specify which disk (it's the drive they want to back up). Unrelated to the goal of this PR, so can be updated separately.

[eloquence]

Right now you're using "fresh USB" and "new USB" interchangeably to refer to the recovery target. Terms like "fresh" and "new" can be confusing when juggling multiple USB drives (at least 3, possibly more if they're doing multiple restores), Tails cloning processes, etc.

I would reword this as follows:

a fresh USB stick to serve as the restored Admin Workstation, Journalist Workstation or Secure Viewing Station USB, referred to as the "workstation USB" in this document

and then update subsequent sections, "Prepare the new workstation USB", etc.

[zenmonkeykstop]

I refer to it as the "fresh USB stick" until Tailsified, at which stage it changes to the "new Tails USB" - "workstation USB" would be ambiguous IMO as there are other workstation USBs referred to in the doc.

How about the "blank USB stick" before formatting, the "new workstation USB" afterwards?

[eloquence]

How about the "blank USB stick" before formatting, the "new workstation USB" afterwards?

👍, that sounds very clear to me :)

[zenmonkeykstop]

Aaand done.

[eloquence]

LGTM!

[eloquence]

I have verified these instructions by creating and restoring a backup of my Admin Workstation and my SVS, and verifying that both work as expected. The instructions are clear and complete, and LGTM to merge by a maintainer. :)

The Tails community does appear to want to make this process easier, so we may want to comment on https://redmine.tails.boum.org/code/issues/9889 to give input on what an ideal process would look like from our perspective. My sense is that a "Clone everything" feature as described here would be a huge win in terms of usability.

[conorsch]

LGTM. Left a note about the rsync trailing slashes. It'd be nice to clean that up, but not crucial. Defer to @zenmonkeykstop on what would provide maximum clarity for Admins performing these operations.

Have not performed a functional review (other than verifying the trailing slash behavior described in comments), but given @eloquence's testing, I'm happy with these changes going in.