Firstly, I want to thank everyone who solved the problem Mohamed and I were having. With 2.4.3 you can use tapedev "file:/backup" for direct-to-disk backup (without resorting to older fake-out techniques of loading up the holding disk). But remember that you must amlabel the directory that /backup/data is or is linked to, as a nod to Amanda's origins back in the days of tapes, punch cards, and paper tape.
I'm still a little confused though and feel amanda is still a bit mired in a tape-based mindset. Like perhaps many amanda users, I'm new to amanda, and simply have a small home LAN I want to back up. And with Fry's selling 120GB drives for $109, and CD+-RW still confused, disk-to-disk backup is an idea whose time has come. I am prepared to believe that Amanda is wonderful (the Samba backup was a snap!), but it seems a bit old fashioned compared to say, Second Copy 2000. What happens is if I just have one file:/backup/data directory, it gets erased and a full backup takes place every night. This might be acceptable but I'm exposed for the time that the backup takes place. Why doesn't amanda simply add incrementals to the one existing "tape" (file)? I probably must do what an earlier Bickle post described (more detail in the egroup)... "To rotate 'tapes', i recommend creating sub-directories and symbolically linking them to a 'data' subdirectory, which amlabel et al will look for. The directories are labelled like tapes. I name the subdirectories according to date, then i have a shell script which creates a new directory every night, makes the symlink, labels the tape then runs the backup. I will try this, but won't I then end up with a long series of full backups? (In other words, I'm guessing that Bickle sets the tapecycle to 1, and Amanda doesn't know to do any incrementals, since the several "tapes" are created behind amanda's back). I can work with this but it wastes disk space. Maybe my shell script can just alternate between 2 full images. I guess that is the best compromise. I will set the tapecycle to 1, and not even define a holding disk. Amanda will think it just has 1 tape and always do full backups. The script will flip-flop the full backup from one directory to another and back again. For my small home LAN this is acceptable since the network is quiet all night. (Though still are incrementals too much to ask?) When I get this working, I'll try to get both of these new techniques (Bickle series, Follmer flip-flop) submitted to the FAQ. I wonder if there is a way to use the Hogge posting on 2.4.2 autochangers to create a third technique with autochangers for use with 2.4.3 tapeless file-driver pure-disk backups. I also humbly suggest that the typical amanda user and typical equipment cost has changed over the decades of amanda, and that future versions could emphasize pure disk backup more. -Steve
