Anyone whose ever had to rebuild a server just from tapes might agree

[Teddy Mills]

I dont like backups onto CDs or any tape formats.  Be it helical, travan or
whatever.
Backing up just data is fine and reliable.  But systems are a NOS and data.
NOS being the operating system and all the installed programs running.

1. Getting a true backup of a system onto tape is often difficult due to
open files of the OS and various(important)  data and programs.
2. If the system crashes, restoring a system entirely from tape is equally
as difficult. On servers with real data. I will never make that mistake
agan. Anyone whose ever had to rebuild a server just from tapes might agree.

The system I chose for now, is running a mirrored drive system, and backing
up just the data onto tape.
A third drive I keep as a drive image backup.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Brockway" <rbrockway-wgAaPJgzrDxH4x6Dk/4f9A at public.gmane.org>
To: <tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 9:20 PM
Subject: RE: [TLUG]: Data recovery emergency on a downed server... Help
please!!


> On Wed, 31 Dec 2003, Wil McGilvery wrote:
>
> > I do not like using CD's because the storage is too small. Even DVD's
> > are not quite big enough to completely back up a system. They are also
> > cheap and you can still experience unreliability. Even the "good" cd's
> > are still too unreliable for me.
> >
> > When I first got started I used dat tapes and sold some to customers.
> > That was a big mistake. I was replacing the tape drive every year and
> > once I had a new tape drive it was a crap shoot as to whether I could
> > perform a restore or not from an old tape.
>
> One of the biggest problems with DDS (and other) tapes is the inability to
> restore except on the tape drive used to do that backup.  This is caused
> by head misalignment on the original drive, and makes the idea of disaster
> recovery a joke when you consider that in a real disaster the original
> drive probably went up in smoke.
>
> Anyone using tapes (particularly DDS) to backup important data[1] better
> be testing restores on a _different_ tape drive.
>
> [1] If you are troubled enough to back it up chances are it is important.
>
> Rob
>
> --
> Robert Brockway
> Senior Technical Consultant, OpenTrend Solutions Ltd.
> Phone: 416-669-3073, Email: rbrockway-wgAaPJgzrDxH4x6Dk/4f9A at public.gmane.org,
http://www.opentrend.net
> OpenTrend Solutions: Reliable, secure solutions to real world problems.
> --
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