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Date:      30 Dec 2004 09:52:30 -0500
From:      Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local@be-well.ilk.org>
To:        "Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com>
Cc:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: FreeBSD server(s) to backup multi-platform systems remotely
Message-ID:  <44652jon2p.fsf@be-well.ilk.org>
In-Reply-To: <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNOENNEPAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com>
References:  <LOBBIFDAGNMAMLGJJCKNOENNEPAA.tedm@toybox.placo.com>

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"Ted Mittelstaedt" <tedm@toybox.placo.com> writes:

> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
> > [mailto:owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org]On Behalf Of Andrew P.
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 7:33 PM
> > To: Danny
> > Cc: questions@freebsd.org
> > Subject: Re: FreeBSD server(s) to backup multi-platform systems remotely
> > 
> 
> > I don't want to sound like an ad, but I've heard some experienced backup 
> > officers say that if you're gonna backup proprietary platforms (i.e. 
> > Windows) you'd best use proprietary backup software.
> 
> I would agree with this if the goal is to be able to restore a busted
> server.
> 
> If the goal of the backup is merely to archive DATA, then this isn't
> true.  Of course, it's important to understand that archiving data and
> backing up the server are two different things.  With a server backup
> the goal is to create a restore set that allows you to come back
> from a flat server with a minimum amount of effort and time.  With
> a data archive there is no goal to create a restore set - instead
> you want to get the data centralized and put to a medium that you
> have a ghost of a chance of being able to read in 10 years. (and
> that ain't Arcserve, my friends)

And there's actually a *third* possible goal, which is quick recovery
of accidentally deleted (or overwritten, etc.) user data.  UFS2
filesystem snapshots are a remarkably easy way to provide this.  

And then there's RAID, which doesn't solve any of these problems, but
can help you get back up fast after losing a disk.

Each of these goals has a different "best solution," and in some cases
the solution even depends on the details of the environment.  Figure
out exactly what you need before deciding how to fill that need.

-- 
Lowell Gilbert, embedded/networking software engineer, Boston area
		http://be-well.ilk.org/~lowell/



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