If you are lost on how to setup a subversion repository, this quick how-to may help. This can be used to setup a repository when you have existing files that you want to initially import into the repository (such as an existing project that is not under version control).
Reliable backup systems are critical to any type of development. The following simple python script can be setup on a crontab and will tar a server's /home and /etc directories and scp them to a remote server. It will send an email alert when it is finished, and can be extended to include other directories. It also has a way to exclude wild-card file patterns or directories.