Hi Junix,
Here are some suggestions based on my experience with 100+GB Siebel database
and file attachments.
1. The fastest and cheapest way to transfer files is over the network, but how
can you transfer files without cause network congestion. Answer: use the
SPARE NIC port at the back of the server. Take a look and see if it is free and
pray that it is Gigabit capable. Buy a cheap Gigabit hub and setup a separate
network using the spare NIC port. You now have a 70MBytes+ transfer link that
won't hog with your current network.
2. Setup your spare computer, put in the SATA drives in RAID configuration but
don't just install any Linux. What you need is a Linux NAS "Network Attached
Storage" and I suggest you get www.openfiler.com. NAS have a feature called
"snapshot" that allows you to freeze the contents and structure of the
filesystem
at a given moment in time. I believe there are some Filesystems that do this
natively. So even if someone decides to do an "rm -r", you can still get the
files
based on the last snapshot. Warning though, I haven't tried the "snapshot"
capability of OpenFiler, but i hope it works the same as the 8Mil peso NetApp
Filer snapshot feature that we did test. If you don't need this snapshot
capability,
then any Linux distribution will do.
Set up 1 & 2 and use your usual rsync/amanda/backup scripts. If you are really
paranoid about the backup, run md5deep on both sides after every backup and
diff the logs.(md5deep.sourceforge.net). use SHA256 if you really need to be
sure.
Other tips:
a. you need to have a gigabit NIC on your NAS. Most upper-end motherboards
are now gigabit capable.
b. you still need to do a more permanent backup. How about dual-layer DVD
writers? 8GB total storage and should cost a lot less than backup tapes. You
can even do the Md5deep check on each file afterwards.
c. If your management wants a more "formal" system without spending the 8Mil
pesos, google for NAS appliances. There is a lot on the market. And many use
Linux/FreeBSD as their OS. Many are also portable, so you can move them
offsite.
d. don't use the file-system copy/sync backup method for live database files.
It is
always more efficient to use the database's native replication capability.
I hope these suggestions help, drop me a private email if you any questions.
Ambrosio
Junix Gaspar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Well usually with tapes you have a daily backup. And usually nowadays, tape is
just one backup solution aside from offsite dump all others that you can think
of. The more options you have, the better your data will be available.
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