Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2002 19:26:52 -0500 From: "Jack L. Stone" <jackstone@sage-one.net> To: freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Cc: ahl@austclear.com.au Subject: Re: Backups on IDE disks Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20020911192652.00fbeac8@mail.sage-one.net> In-Reply-To: <200209112254.IAA13879@tungsten.austclear.com.au> References: <Message from "Brian M. Kincaid" <bmk@adsl-64-174-159-18.dsl.sntc01.pacbell.net> <200209112004.g8BK4JtZ001693@adsl-64-174-159-18.dsl.sntc01.pacbell.net>
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At 08:54 AM 9.12.2002 +1000, Tony Landells wrote: >Hi Brian, > >Backing up to a hard disk is very cool and convenient and, as you >point out, not really that expensive. And with the HUGE capacity >you can do complete backups of your system each time instead of >doing incrementals most of the time so you can leave it unattended >and be confident it will fit on a CD. > >The problem is that all the time the hard disk is in your computer, >it is susceptible to the following problems: > > disaster (your house burns down) > > power spikes (which could cause the heads to scratch the disk, > meaning the only chance of ever getting data off it again is > to send it to an expensive data recovery service) > > malice (someone doesn't like you so they scribble on the backups) > > accident (someone mistypes something and ends up scribbling > on your backups) > >Just make sure you're safe from the things that you want to be safe from; >that's all I'm saying. If you can afford for your last backup to be >slightly out of date (i.e. to the last time you took a disk out), and >you think the chances of the above are small enough, then go for it >and enjoy the convenience! > >Tony >-- >Tony Landells <ahl@austclear.com.au> I don't see how any of these caveats have anything unique to a HD backup. Those extremes could apply to any type of backup. HDs are so cheap now and most of all FAST! ...on both backup and the restore. Plus, you can backup over NFS and not worry about removing a HD... except, of course, one does advise to have an emergency backup on remote site... but it could burn down too ...AND at the same time! ...it's just good to do backups and I've been using HDs (and tapes too) for years. All of my restores (emergency) have been from HDs because they were quicker and were most cirrent because I back up via HD more frequently than any other device... because of the speed... plus, you can use all sorts of backup program choices and any combo: 'dump' (best for files systems) 'dd' (good for an exact image) tar (another good one for certain dirs/files) and rsync....etc., (there are more favorites for others). Fortunately, full recoveries aren't so frequently needed... but, if you don't have one...OUCH! Here comes a crash for sure! Best regards, Jack L. Stone, Administrator SageOne Net http://www.sage-one.net jackstone@sage-one.net To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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