[Gllug] Terrible weekend

[Bernard Peek]

In message <1141564902.9932.32.camel at localhost.localdomain>, Adrian 
McMenamin <adrian at mcmen.demon.co.uk> writes

>Of course, I had no backup (this just me at home). Rather than have you
>all lecture me how this is all my own fault, what is the best option for
>a cheap backup system? I am attracted by the idea of using NAS and half
>a terrabyte of disks, just syncing in the small hours of the morning. I
>know that won't ptotect me against lightening strikes and the like, but
>in the balance between affordability and resilience I'll live with that.
>
>Anything else?

I've been managing computers for 20 years and in that time I've only 
ever had to restore files for one reason, someone deleted a file that 
they shouldn't have.

Backup to a hard disk will be OK for 99% of any problems you are likely 
to face. It doesn't protect against fire or Burglar Bill.

You need to think about two things. One is the total volume of data and 
the second is the rate at which you collect new data. If most of your 
data is archived video files then copying them to DVD and keeping the 
backup off site is a good idea. Copy the whole archive to a 400gb disk, 
unplug it and keep that off site. Make a new archive DVD every time you 
add another few GB. Make a new hard disk archive once a month or so.

For low-volume data like word-processor files get into the habit of 
backing them up every time you walk away from the PC. Better still use a 
Cron job to archive them every hour or two and keep several generations 
of files in a grandfather-father-son system. Mirroring is not an optimum 
solution, because when you delete the file the mirror goes too. You need 
a solution that keeps the mirror copy long enough for you to discover 
the mistake and be able to fix it. If there are important files that you 
only use once a week then the mirror has to hold deleted files for at 
least one week.



-- 
Bernard Peek
London, UK. DBA, Manager, Trainer & Author.

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