Backups have following advantages:
(1) Preserve historical data
(2) In case of software corruption or microSD card failure, easy restoration from backup.
For me:
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Advantage (1) has no value as I have no use or interest in historical data…
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Advantage (2) has no value as in case of software / microSD card failure, rather than using backup (which most likely be older version of everything), I prefer to re-image with latest version of OS and install the latest version of all feeders and graphs etc. This way my system is most up to date after restoration.
My interest in creating the how-to “cloning booted microSD card” was only technical. After creating that how-to 4 years ago, I never created any backup of any of my RPis’.
Well every one has his own preferences & choices. Your mileage may vary.