[Gllug] local backup solution

[t.clarke]

Probably a statement of the obvious, but I guess the ideal backup solution
depends on
a) total size of the filesystem you want to back-up
b) how often files change within it


For example our main 'database' sits in a 500MB filesystem and pretty much
every file changes on a daily basis (key-index files with lots of writes
and rewrites).   Accordingly our quickest/most convenient solution is to:
a) unount and raw-copy to another spare filesystem on the machine   ( < 20 secs)
   using dd if=master-filesystem  of=copy-filesystem  bs=2000k
b) remount and carry on
c) back the spare filesystem to a CD  and a tape and copy overnight on the
   network to a spare machine located elsewhere

CDs are cheap so we can afford to keep a stack, which gives us the ability to
go back in time if needed

Of course if the filesystem were much bigger there are always DVDs :-)


The above relies, of course, upon having the data in a separate filesystem.
I am personally a great believer in keeping the root filesystem as much as
possible with 'static' stuff only and the various categories of 'volatile'
data in separate filesystems with their own backup strategies, dependent on
level of volatility and value.


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