Re: Idiot proof hot swap backup system

On Thu, 15 Sep 2005 04:05:18 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>Dale Walker <dale@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote
>> Rod Speed <rod_speed@xxxxxxxxx> wrote
>
>>> I wouldnt use caddys in that situation myself, too easy to
>>> drop them and too expensive when they do get dropped.
>
>>> I'd personally have a low powered server in a fire
>>> safe and completely automate the backup from there.
>
>> To be honest, alongside the other reasons for going the
>> removable route, I'd rather take the risk of wrecking the
>> occasional drive and spending 200ukp on a new 300GB drive
>> than over 2000ukp on a new server and fireproof housing.
>
>It doesnt cost anything like that.

Even better! hadn't looked at the prices for a couple of months but
yes, 300GB drives are almost half that these days.

>> I'll just have to make sure I re-verify all
>> data on the disk at very regular intervals.
>
>Wont help with a dropped drive.

That's why you have several and rotate. A dropped drive might ruin the
previous nights backup but you'll soon know about it next time you
comes to use it.

Well, we all know that the 1,000,000:1 shot that the server will blow
up on the day you drop the drive is usually closer to 10:1 when you
factor in Sods law but I think it's a pretty safe way to go about
things.


>> We did have an on online solution but unfortunately the ADSL specs in the
>> area can't cope with the upload and we had to ration what we backed up.
>
>Even if the backup is only of changed data ?

Depends on how good the backup program is. If it can deal with backing
up changes within databases (like MS Exchange/SQL server/etc then
maybe it's OK. Without it a 4GB MS Exchange database alone is going to
take all night at the current 256Mb upload speed (taking other data
transfers/contention issues, etc into consideration.


>> Are they MS Exchange/SQL aware?
>
>Imagers dont need to be.

But MS Exchange uses Exchange aware backup programs to clear
transaction logs and stuff or it ends up clogging the hard drive.

>> Will I still need to use some other backup system to clear the logs?
>
>I'd personally have that system produce just changed data that is uploaded
>over the adsl system. I wouldnt bother with traditional backup at all.

Wouldn't work with MS Exchange. All of the cheaper online backup apps
can't deal with open database files. If you close them first then
you've still got a set of files with a few truly huge files which have
of course been changed throughout. I haven't come across any
Exchange/database aware online backup apps. If I could find one that
backed up the changes within databases then yes, an incremental
version might work, without that capability you'll always be uploading
a huge chunk of data.

--
Dale Walker
London Techno Events
dale@sorted,org
http://london.sorted.org
.

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