Yaacov Fenster - System Engineering Troubleshooting and other stuff wrote:
> Folks -
> In general we are talking about amounts of up to 20Gb per backed up
> volume with about half a dozen volumes.
This is not a significant volume of data.
> Ideally we should be able to backup multiple full copies (over time)
> of a volume (Weekly backup for example), coupled with incremental
> backups of the volume (Daily backup for example).
>
> One option that comes to mind is a dedicated file server, but that
> means that the backups are not physically removed. On the other hand
> using removable disks (USB2.0/Firewire) means that we dedicate a
> significant storage capacity (And cost) to each backup.
>
> Ideas anyone?
Well, the way I see it, these are your options:
1. Buy a backup tape. A 200GB uncompressed drive (what is called by the
industry a "400GB" drive) costs quite a lot (about 2000$), and each
tape is not particularily cheap either. I don't know whether smaller
tape drives are currently available for buying. Be sure to verify the
data you write to the tapes. The last thing you want is to have a
disaster, put in a tape, and find out it is corrupt.
2. Use IDE drives inside a USB 2.0 adapter. Buy a few removable IDE
adapters and mount one case inside an external USB IDE adapter. This
allows you to easilly (no screwdrivers) replace the disks. If your
storage volume is as you describe it, fairly small disks should suffice.
Store several backups on each drive, and you are not wasting much space.
As for verify - it is easier for drives. Most drives support SMART.
Unfortunately, in order to run SMART tools on an IDE disk connected via
USB (same goes for SATA) you need to patch your kernel. I don't think
there is any distribution that ships kernels pre-patched with this
patch, but I may be wrong on this one.
3. Use an internet backup service. My company (Lingnu) sells such a
service. I know for a fact that we are not the only one (or even the
only one in Israel), but I don't know whether any other support Linux.
In any case, we do support it, and keep multiple geographically
seperated copies of your data (encrypted, of course). We live up to any
reasonable DRM standard you would care to name. This also has the added
bonus of totally automatic operation (no need to remeber to switch the
tapes/hard disks).
If remote storage of the backup is a must, I cannot think of a any
option other than the above three. If your backup size is really about
20GB, I believe option 2 is clearly superior to option 1 in both price
and performance. I cannot recommend between 2 and 3, as I have an
obvious interest in the answer.
Shachar
--
Shachar Shemesh
Lingnu Open Source Consulting ltd.
Have you backed up today's work? http://www.lingnu.com/backup.html
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