[SLUG] Backup

[Martin Webb]

john at johnallsopp.co.uk wrote:
>> I'm reading back through all the postings called "Backup", and I can't
>> actually see exactly what it is you are trying to do.
> 
> OK, here's the goal.
> 
> As a web developer, huge amounts of my work go straight to a web
> server somewhere else, so I'm not hugely fussed by daily backups, so
> I'm currently just trying to establish a monthly dump of my home
> directory to DVD.
> 
> It will span many DVDs, so what I really want to do is press a button,
> put in a DVD, and then get prompted to swap DVDs until I'm done.
> 
> Ideally, since that will take a while, I assume, and I'll have to
> stick around to swap discs, I'd like the system to be usable while
> that's happening. But that's a nice to have. So long as it doesn't
> take, say, more than half an hour, I could find something interesting
> to read.
> 
> However, once that's done, if it's easy, a differential weekly backup
> would be a nice thing to progress to.
> 
> And if I can manage that, I may well back up my whole system at least
> once a blue moon.

I said I'd contact various people concerning the above.
Diocese of London answer was as good as England's Ashes bid.
However, from my son David, concerning a MS project, I got the following:

****** Quote: ******
The museum had exactly those requirements and it was certainly a long 
search to find suitable software.
I found ZipBackuptoCD (copes with DVDs too).

Can select files and folders to backup - check
Backup spans many DVDs - check
Can press a button and off it goes - check
Prompts to change DVD when full - check
Computer usable during backup - checkish

Regarding the last point, as the name suggests you can compress the 
backup files and this is processor intensive so the PC runs other 
programs fairly slowly during backup. It's fine for web browsing or just 
typing into a word processor. No problem if using a dual processor PC I 
guess. Also, you can choose not to compress the backup which speeds the 
backup process hugely and may take less processor capacity???

Does incremental backups and works fine with DVD+-RW.

Hope it helps. I can lend you mine for testing (I think you get 30 days 
free trial anyway)

NB  I always seem to run into trouble at some point with DVD rewritables 
so generally I use ZipBackuptoCD to create a backup to HDD and then use 
Nero or equiv to burn to DVD-RW. It's less hassle than interrupting the 
backup process whilst sorting out whether the disc is duff or something 
else has gone wrong. Guess wouldn't have those problems if using DVD-R.
****** Unquote. ******

This set me looking for something similar for Linux.  Entered "backup cd 
dvd linux" in Google, and came up with some interesting stuff.

Top of the listing was:
http://www.bluehaze.com.au/unix/cdbkup.html
which at least sounds as if it's trying to achieve the above goal.

http://www.yolinux.com/TUTORIALS/LinuxTutorialCDBurn.html
has some interesting information (go to Burn a DVD near the bottom).

This page has various sorts of backup software.  I notice Napster has 
stolen some of the links, but there are other ways in, I find:
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/System/Backup/Bacula-3320.shtml#

Apologies there are no direct answers here.  However, I've had several 
quests of this kind.  People have made suggestion, sideways leaps have 
been made, it's been shelved for a few months, then a breakthrough occurs.

Good luck.  If I get some time, I'll run tests on a spare machine, but I 
want to get a Moodle server up and running first (similarly taxing).

Martin