Date: Mon, 11 Oct 1999 10:05:45 -0400 (EDT) From: FreeBSD Bob <fbsdbob@weedcon1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> To: a.genkin@utoronto.ca (Arcady Genkin) Cc: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Why use tape for backups? (was: backup method reccommendation?) Message-ID: <199910111405.KAA60279@weedcon1.cropsci.ncsu.edu> In-Reply-To: <87iu4etzlp.fsf_-_@main.wgaf.net> from Arcady Genkin at "Oct 10, 1999 10:12:18 pm"
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> Hi all: > > This discussion of backups to tape reminded me that I have always > wondered, why do some people chose tape as backup solution for desktop > pc's. Good question. Generally, my sense of it is that tape is cheaper, and usually more reliable, than most other solutions. > It seems to me that it's much cheaper, faster, and more reliable to > just buy another hard drive and dedicate it for backups. Well, you need multiple drives, for starters. That can get expensive. IFF you mirror a drive, then that is one thing, but you still need at least two copies for security. I do that on my VAX, where I absolutely must have a live spare clone drive to drop in if I nuke something. So, I keep several cloned bootable drives on the shelf. That is not practical if your file systems change considerably, but, it is practical where a basic install plus addins, or mainly a level 0 dump system is required. Then all I have to tar off to tape is changing addins. That works pretty good, in my case. For tapes, I find that I need to keep multiple copies of both a set of dumps and a set of addins. I use olden QIC tapes and systems, since I bought some 600 of them in surplus one time. Also, they seem to still be the most reliable media that I can find. I have had bad problems with high density tapes, so I stick with low density QIC tapes and they seem to run forever. The only problem with them is that the rubber drive wheels on the tape drives tend to decompose with time, requiring that you retread the drive wheels occasionally (I use slices of rubber air hose). I do think that CD's will probably replace tape down the road, but for now, tapes are still probably the best method of backup. HD's are till too fragile for the handling required, and are too expensive for multiple copies or a full dump cycle, for most folks. > Is there any reasons tapes are a better choice? I can usually take a tape anywhere, if written correctly. Hard drives may not read on some systems of the fs types are markedly different. CD's could be fairly portable, but are a pain to make. Tapes still win out as the least common denominator. Bob To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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