Incremental backup solution. was: What logs etc do I need tocheckfrequently?

[Joachim Dagerot]

This solution sounds nice, I can even imagine setting up an additional
machine (on the same location though) to have a somewhat galvanic
isolation between the disks. Only fire, earthquake and a neutronbomb
would affect such a backup solution.

However, I could use a push in the right direction when it comes to
how to configure and what software to use for achieving the
incremental backup tasks.

Could you hint me in how your system is doing this in a more detailed
way?

Cheers,
Joachim


-------------------
 | On Sun, 2003-12-28 at 10:27, Robert Huff wrote:
 | > 	There are systems that will put 160 GB (uncompressed) on a
 | > single tape ... they'll just run you $3000-3500.
 | > 	If, on the other hand, you think of it as a yearly full dump
 | > (split over multiple tapes) plus monthly incrementals then a DLT
 | > 8000 ($1000 ??) at 40 GB (uncompressed) will do just fine.
 | > 
 | > 
 | > 				Robert Huff
 | 
 | I'd like to throw in my (home) solution here.
 | 
 | I have had a dedicated file server on my home network for years. It
 | serves out files to clients on the network via SMB and HTTP. This
 | machine stores all of my permanent (and not so permanent) data and
has
 | two large identical disks. Only the first is used. The other is
used
 | strictly to back up the information on the first. A cron job runs a
 | script at 7AM every morning which powers up the backup disk, mounts
it,
 | performs an incremental backup and then powers down the backup disk
 | again until the next morning.
 | 
 | The moral: Buy double the amount of disk space that you think
you'll
 | need or settle for half of what you can afford. Then force yourself
to
 | use one half only to back up the other half. Disk-to-disk backup is
 | probably the best way to go for the home user. It's cheap and it's
easy,
 | but it won't break the bank. Reliability is probably significantly
less
 | than a $3k tape solution, but careful monitoring of the system and
quick
 | response to potential problems can mitigate this to a large degree.
 | 
 | Pretty soon I plan to move the backup disk to a separate machine on
the
 | network that gets powered up each day by some kind of external
timer.
 | The machine will power up, contact the file server, do an
incremental
 | backup, then shut itself off. This would put me just one step short
of a
 | complete daily off-site backup, all with hardware that is
considered by
 | most to be obsolete.