[Gllug] Advice on backup options

[Rev Simon Rumble]

This one time, at band camp, Mike Brodbelt wrote:

> Have they got DR, or just insurance on the hardware? Replacing the kit
> is one thing, but could they contine in business at all if they
> irretrievably lost all their data? If the answer is no, they might be
> well advised to have a budget of > 300ukp for a backup solution...

Continuing "business" is a difficult thing with non-profits.  The
measurement of outcomes is somewhat different...

However, all good points and I will bring these up when pressing for
the cash to build the optimum solution.

> The backup controller's house burns down on Thursday night. Game over.

Erm, no.  As you'll recall, I said I didn't want all the backups and
the data to be in the same place at the same time.

> You need some kind of incremental solution. You need offsite storage.
> Despite how cheap IDE disks are, I still think that tape is the only
> sensible option. Using a NAS box as a secondary when you have cash to
> burn is fine, but tape is easy to put in a safe, doesn't lose data when
> you drop it on the floor, and a whole host of other things.

Definitely important.

> If you're concerned about cost get a DDS drive - they can be had cheaply
> now. 25 quid from ebay if you're really scraping the barrel:-

Not enough space, though I guess they can go incremental.  Incremental
backups scare me...  I'm just not convinced...

> For software, I still think Amanda is the best system I've ever used,
> and it's free.

Thanks for the tip.  Will check it out.

-- 
Rev Simon Rumble <simon at rumble.net>
www.rumble.net

In politics, what begins in fear usually ends in folly.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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