On Sunday 26 Jul 2009, Sean Gibbins wrote:
> I wonder how many people discover that their backups are not working or
> simply aren't suited to purpose just /after/ a disk dies on them? I
> suspect most of us have been there to a greater or lesser degree at some
> point!
>
> If your data is important you should:
>
> * have a documented plan describing what is backed up and how it
> should be restored
> * test that the data you have backed up /can/ be restored according
> to that plan
> * automate your backups - if there's a manual step you'll eventually
> forget to run it and at that point Sod's Law will be invoked!
> * receive confirmation that your backups have run (email is good for
> this - if you don't receive the confirmation email then there's a
> good chance your backup didn't run)
> * periodically review the scope of your backups to ensure that they
> includes everything you might eventually need to restore, and
> update your plan accordingly
Well I did the first three and the last, but not the fourth. I wouldn't have
known how to do the mail notification with KBackup anyway, even if I'd thought
of it.
My problem was that I got to rely on the automatic backup and didn't check
that it was still running. I think if I'd spent more time at home, I'd have
spotted it sooner. The upside to that of course, is that I haven't done much
that I would regret losing during the intervening period; this is only a home
computer and doesn't contain any work.
If I used it for work, I think I'd use a server solution to ensure that the
backups are on a completely separate machine in case this one really crashed
and burned.
--
Terry Coles
64 bit computing with Kubuntu Linux
--
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