No, this is not a comparison of back-up tools, nor is it a solicitation on What to backup or Why and only a little bit about Where to backup and When to do it.
This is basically a strategy question: what, where and when all together. "How" is not really relevant: there are tons of back-up programs out there and they all do the same basic thing: make copies of data.
But the real question is: are these back-up programs making copies of the data important to you? How should you install&run Ubuntu while safeguarding your data?
There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to computers, Ubuntu versions or a backup strategy, therefore I've split this up into 5 basic user types with each their own answer:
- I don't have a computer!
- My computer doesn't contain my life...
- My computer contains my life!
- My computer IS my life! (or you're running in UEFI mode!)
And as the above does not fit everyone, one for the impatient:
So click one of the above links and go to your user type!
P.S. If you're running a server farm and you've read this question so far, I'm sorry: this is about a single PC, not a network, nor a server farm.
4. My computer is my life!
The reason you bought the computer in the first place, is... Well, the computer! You tinker, you theme, you customise, you get it just right! But is it right for a back-up?
What if that last theme of yours stops you from logging into the desktop? Or that custom kernel you just downloaded freezes the entire system?
How to install Ubuntu:
Use 3 partitions at a minimum: swap, / and /home. You want to tinker that even further? Read the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard in it's entirety.
What to back up:
Everything! Your Phone! Your digital camera! Your tablet! The router settings! The TV firmware! The neighbour's tablet! The Psion! The Thermal Camera settings!
Back them all up on your computer! Forget about those clouds! The Internet will be down for 24 hours and you'll be needing all that data not to go into withdrawal!
Forget about swap! Never back up swap! It's just a raw partition anyway.
Boot a CD and make an image or clone / excluding /home
There are lots of backup tools that support imaging and cloning out there. Always keep 2 images: the one you're making and the previous one. That way if the lightning hits the wire while you're doing your back-up, you'll still be able to restore the previous one!
Then just use some back-up program that looks cool and is fast and backup /home on the same hard drive on the same partition, in another directory unencrypted. (Google for "encrypted restore problem" if you want to know why)
Where to back up / Where to store it:
On an external USB HDD and in the cloud (after some serious public key encryption)
Store the USB HDD somewhere safe not connected to the computer, but close by like in the next room so you can easily restore.
When to back up:
How much can you afford to loose? A day? A week??? Maybe just continuous back-up?
How to do a restore:
Boot the imaging/cloning CD, restore the image/clone (never use a clone!). After that, restore the differential back-up on /home
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