>I am just learning about Amanda ...
Welcome!
>and it sounds like it fits in well with
>what I am doing. I have a few questions for anyone that can help after
>describing what I am trying to do below.
Have you looked at "the chapter":
http://www.backupcentral.com/amanda.html
>... I intend to make tar or ufsdump/dump files using nfs
>and putting all backup files on one Linux 6.2 backup server with 135GB
>of disk space. ... I then intend saving the one backup server to a Qualstar
>AIT2 tape library unless I can use Amanda to save more directly.
Amanda can do that much more directly.
The general idea behind Amanda is that your backup server (what Amanda
would call the tape server) reaches out to each client and has them
run whatever dump program is appropriate. The image is transferred
across the network back to Amanda on the server who writes it to tape.
So there is no NFS involved.
If you've got that big chunk of disk space on your server, Amanda
will use it (or some portion) nicely as a speed buffer (Amanda calls
it a "holding disk") for the multiple dumps going on at the same time
by storing the images in there as they come in, then streaming each to
tape when they complete.
>Also, does Amanda work with Qualstar AIT2 tape libraries?
I think I've seen this hardware mentioned here (check the egroups
archive), but in general, Amanda can work with just about anything.
The key is whether you have software that can make the device move at all.
Sometimes this is as simple as "mt offline", but other devices are more
sophisticated and need an external program to issue the appropriate
commands. If this device is SCSI, there is a new "changer" (Amanda term)
with the 2.4.2 release that can drive it directly.
Speaking of which, I **strongly** recommend you build Amanda from sources,
and that you start with the 2.4.2 source tree at www.sourceforge.net.
That version is very close to release and has a number of fixes and
improvements over the last official version, 2.4.1p1.
If you have other questions, just post. I'd suggest you just use
amanda-users for now. The amanda-hackers list is intended for questions
and comments about Amanda development as compared with how to use it.
>Jim LaGore
John R. Jackson, Technical Software Specialist, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
