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Date:      Fri, 27 Mar 2009 11:11:50 +1000
From:      Greg Black <freebsd-nospam@yaxom.com>
To:        "Mikhail T." <mi+thun@aldan.algebra.com>
Cc:        freebsd-stable@freebsd.org, Andrew Snow <andrew@modulus.org>, fs@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: dump | restore fails: unknown tape header type 1853384566
Message-ID:  <nospam-1238116311.02890@joker.yaxom.com>
In-Reply-To: <49CA5602.9050001@aldan.algebra.com>
References:  <49C83673.3000604@aldan.algebra.com> <200903251232.11418.doconnor@gsoft.com.au> <49C99204.2050601@aldan.algebra.com> <200903251334.38350.doconnor@gsoft.com.au> <49C99FD2.50609@aldan.algebra.com> <nospam-1237956961.78753@joker.yaxom.com> <49CA5602.9050001@aldan.algebra.com>

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On 2009-03-25, Mikhail T. wrote:
> Greg Black ???????(??):
>> On 2009-03-24, Mikhail T. wrote:
>>  
>>> That's true. I just wanted to point out, that someone running dump only 
>>> (to make backups) is not going to know, whether his dumps are usable 
>>> (for whichever of the two reasons), until he needs them...
>> 
>> Such a person is not making backups and deserves what he gets.
>>  
> But he *is* making backups -- kindly re-read my paragraph above... He 
> just is not routinely using them and thus does not know, that they 
> aren't usable... It is not unreasonable to expect the two utilities to 
> "just work", so I wouldn't be blaming such a person for not testing 
> restore.

Sorry, this person is *not* making backups in any meaningful fashion.
Unless you verify regularly (preferably every time you make a backup)
that you can restore both parts of the backup and the entire thing, you
are not making backups.  You may be lucky, but you probably won't be
lucky when it really matters.

This is a long-standing issue with backups.  But people who don't
understand the tools they are using tend to make these mistakes.  The
result is bad.  The solution is to employ competent people who both
understand the issues and have the authority to carry out their task.



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