[linux] backup and storage

[Robert Moulton]

... let rsnapshot do it for you

http://www.rsnapshot.org/

Justin S. Williams wrote, on 02/14/07 15:57:
> Donald,
> 
> Detailed at the following web page are instructions about using rsync to
> create an incremental backup that gives you a full snapshot for any
> given day.  Basically it works by using "cp -al" to create a second set
> of hard links to an initial full snapshot (which doesn't duplicate the
> data on disk, only the links to the inodes), and then using rsync to
> update the new copy.  The end result is that you can have what appears
> on the filesystem to be complete full snapshots for each day while only
> using the disk space of an incremental snapshot.
> 
> http://www.mikerubel.org/computers/rsync_snapshots/ 
> 
> I've used this technique with great success and I find it far more
> useful than using tar.  However, I'm curious if you (or anyone else
> here) have looked into this and have found using tar across ssh to be
> more useful/functional, or if there are factors I've not considered in
> my backup scheme.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> --
> Justin Williams
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: linux-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu
> [mailto:linux-bounces at mailman1.u.washington.edu] On Behalf Of Donald J.
> Ankney
> Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 2:43 PM
> To: Linux/Unix Users Group at the UW
> Subject: Re: [linux] backup and storage
> 
> It doesn't take a lot of processing power to set up a software raid and
> sync the files. You can use pretty much anything in the P4 class.  
> 512 megs of ram is plenty.
> 
> Since the University has a site license for RHEL, why not just use the
> current version? If you're using this for a personal project, you can
> use CentOS, which originated as a free (as in beer as well as
> speech) alternative to RHEL. Personally, I just use tar piped across ssh
> (rsync doesn't work for me as I'm interested in multiple backups with so
> that I can restore to a specific date).
> 
> On Feb 14, 2007, at 2:28 PM, Helen Petropoulos wrote:
> 
>> 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
>>>>
>>>>
>