[Gllug] backup solution

[Bernard Peek]

In message <6.0.0.10.0.20030708202131.02ed5a38 at postel.clues.ltd.uk>, 
Martin A. Brooks <martin at clues.ltd.uk> writes
>At 18:11 08/07/2003, you wrote:
>>1x fast CD writer
>>1x fireproof safe
>
><pedant>
>Writeable CDs degrade in time.  Granted, the inside of your fire safe 
>is probably quite dark but that's not the point.  I use DLT because, 
>when stored in optimal conditions, the data integrity is 30 years even 
>after hundreds of passes.
></pedant>

I know that nobody is quite sure what the lifetime of a CD-R is, but 10 
years is quite safe using a normal drive. Some manufacturers are 
claiming 30 years. The real limitation will probably be that in 30 years 
it won't be possible to buy a drive to read a CD-R although I suspect 
that by that time flatbed scanners will probably do it.

My recommendation for backups is to use two media. If you are working 
with valuable data always take a backup to a second hard drive. It's 
quick, easy and cheap so there's no temptation to skip it when you're in 
a hurry. Not taking a backup is the one of the commonest failure modes 
of any backup system. My backup disk is on a server in the loft. If 
someone breaks in and steals computers there's a reasonable chance that 
they will miss that one.

Second; tape, CD-R or some variant of DVD-R. Tape is slow and expensive 
and has limited reliability. Good quality tape systems are seriously 
expensive. If you can fit all of your critical data on a few CDs then 
that's probably the way to go.

Another thing to consider is setting up a round-robin mailer of trusted 
people, at the end of the week back up your data to CD and mail it to 
the next person on the list. When you eventually get it back bin it. 
Everyone in the circle has one generation of backups for everyone. If 
you have broadband why not zip up your data and e-mail it to someone 
overnight?



-- 
Bernard Peek
bap at shrdlu.com
www.diversebooks.com: SF & Computing book reviews and more.....

In search of cognoscenti


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