[linux] backup and storage

[Helen Petropoulos]

Hi Alan,

That sounds like just the advice that I was looking for, but I was 
wondering,
when you say barebones system, what's the minimum processor that I 
should
look at?  What's the minimum version number of RHLE that I should use?

I've worked on Unix systems, but I'm new to Linux and I'm not sure 
where to look
for this kind of information.

Thanks,

Helen

On Feb 14, 2007, at 1:37 PM, Alan Gibson wrote:

> the best solution depends somewhat on what you are trying to achieve.
> if you want to archive stuff, dvd may be best. if you just want
> redundant backups, i would set up a NAS.
>
> take a cheap barebones system, add a 4 port sata card and 4 250GB
> drives. use mdadm to turn the drives into a 1TB raid. then set up an
> hourly cron job that backs the whole thing up with rsync. the great
> thing about rsync is that it only transfers what has actually changed.
>
> this solution would be cheap, easier to maintain than tape or dvd, not
> to mention it would be a whole lot faster. if you need more storage,
> just put in another sata card and some drives and add them to the raid
> (you might want to pay a little extra for a big power supply).
>
> backing up multiple systems would be trivial; just give the backup
> server an account on every system you want to back up and let it go
> out and fetch the files.
>
> now if your data is irreplaceable, you should really have multiple
> copies, at least one being off site.  there is always a chance that
> the building will burn down. in this case i would say either add
> weekly dvd backups and take them home with you, or sign up for one of
> the new remote backup services that are coming online.
>
> alan
>
> On 2/14/07, Helen Petropoulos <elenip at u.washington.edu> wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I have a DELL PowerEdge 700 running linux and I was wondering what 
>> kind
>> of backup system I should obtain for it.  I
>> would like at least 1 T of storage.  Is there something that someone
>> out there recommends?  Should I get an external
>> jukebox?  I would also like to be able to back up other machines onto
>> this one.
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> Helen - Dept of Radiology
>>
>>