Previously, Robert Gray wrote:
>>I have a 7600 connected to my network whose only job is to do backup.
>
>Couldn't that be done just as well by any one of the other computers
>on the LAN? Why add another machine?
Sure, it could be done by any machine on the network. But the
original question was from someone with a spare 8500, looking to find
a task for it! In which case, there are some good reasons to do
backup from a dedicated machine:
*) Redundancy, as Alan said. If the computer that I do all my daily
work on dies catastrophically, all the data is safe on another machine.
Sure, if I had backups on removeable media that would solve the problem
too, and I do--I have redundancy of my redundancy.
*) Drive space--It's nice to have backup files filling up a drive that
you're not using for other things. You could also buy an external drive
and attach that to your main computer to put backups on--but if you
have a computer sitting around with a nice drive in it why not use it.
*) Possible extension conflicts--We have a zillion fancy things already
going on in the main computers, and my systems are dependable and
mostly trouble-free. I hate to tinker with them or add things unless
I really have to. So it's cool to have the backup software running on an
entirely separate machine. Plus, the backup machine itself has a
pared-down
system without unnecessary extras, so it runs flawlessly and fast.
*) "Listening mode"--if you have a laptop and a busy network, there's
another cool thing the Retrospect software can do. It can watch your
network continually, and when a laptop is connected it will come up and
ask you to back up the laptop files then and there. Once this is all
set up it makes it very easy.
I don't have a laptop but if I did I would use this feature. For
a small business it would make sense, and would justify running the
backup computer all the time. Again, you wouldn't want such software
running constantly in the background on your regular machine--it might
slow it down or cause conflicts.
Everybody's backup needs are different. In my case (small publication
in a home office) I can't afford to lose my customer data or my
publication
archives & correspondance under any circumstances. I have to be prepared
for every possible scenario (tornado, disk crash, etc.) and be able to
get back up and running without too much delay. So I'm pretty fanatical.
--Anna
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