<div dir="ltr">FWIW, I currently use 3 tools for backups:<div><br></div><div style>Plain rsync script to an external drive: most reliable chance of recovery (seriously, "cp" will do the recovery), but requires attaching an external drive.</div>
<div style>duplicity to remote machine: Uses rsync algo to do incrementals, encrypts using gpg, but will require duplicity to restore. Completely automated.</div><div style>CrashPlan: unlimited storage for multiple machines, but with a proprietary client. I tolerate this because it's the best option for my wife's Windows laptop, syncs relatively often, and lets someone else manage the infrastructure. (And I know some people who vouch for their crypto, so I'm pretty certain in the safety of it.)</div>
<div style><br></div><div style>At any given time, I have at least 2 backups less than 1 week old (usually 3) in 2 physically disparate locations. Previous strong resilience against software errors, hard drive failures, fire, and theft. I haven't done a restore drill with CrashPlan (bad me) but do regularly do so with the rsync. (In fact, that's how I upgraded my hard drive last time. -- Install new drive, restore from backup.)</div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 3:16 PM, JD <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jdp@algoloma.com" target="_blank">jdp@algoloma.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I'm with these guys.<br>
<br>
I was looking at the backup options again and there are many more now that do<br>
all the right things and seem to do them really well, at least if you look in<br>
Synaptic (software center seems to be a joke to me).<br>
<br>
I am still using rdiff-backup, but some recent failures that I've been unable to<br>
resolve on a desktop have me looking for a alternative. It has been working<br>
almost perfectly on 10+ servers almost 5 yrs besides that.<br>
<br>
If you are using rsync alone and getting mirrors, you are missing out on some of<br>
the best parts of backups - versions. It is possible to use hardlinks and rsync<br>
to get versioned backups, but those are not as efficient as rdiff-backup on<br>
storage. Just sayin.<br>
<br>
For every 1,000 backups, are you certain that you can restore at 3am after a<br>
night of drinking? If not, your restore process is too complex. If it takes a<br>
month to get your data back, is that acceptable too? Online backups are not all<br>
they seem to be for large amounts of data.<br>
<br>
BTW, I was about to get sucked into the other thread too. I've found my happy<br>
place and will not post there. Thanks David for keeping me out of that!<br>
<span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
-jd<br>
</font></span><div class="im HOEnZb"><br>
On 02/21/2013 05:14 PM, Jim Kinney wrote:<br>
> +1e1M<br>
> Don't worry about drive failure. Just be competent at restores from solid<br>
> backups. Bit rot on tape is unmeasurably small compared to drive failure rates.<br>
> If it matters, back it up. If you're not backing it up, it doesn't matter.<br>
><br>
> On Feb 21, 2013 5:05 PM, "David Tomaschik" <<a href="mailto:david@systemoverlord.com">david@systemoverlord.com</a><br>
</div><div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5">> <mailto:<a href="mailto:david@systemoverlord.com">david@systemoverlord.com</a>>> wrote:<br>
><br>
> So, I was going to let myself be sucked into Ron and dev null's debate on<br>
> the other thread, but decided better of it. While I am no Steve Gibson fan<br>
> (in fact, I believe his products and advice are only slightly better than<br>
> snake oil) I'm going to steer clear of that and head for the central topic:<br>
> there are a *lot* of threads on this mailing list about drives failing; and<br>
> no, I'm not suggesting there's an epidemic of drive deaths, just that people<br>
> are approaching it the wrong way.<br>
><br>
> If you care (aside from replacement time and cost) about a single hard drive<br>
> (rotational or SSD) failing: you are doing it wrong. Plain and simple.<br>
><br>
> Backups are the solution to hard drive failures, not ddrescue, spinrite, or<br>
> snake oil. Pick any one hard drive in my place and destroy it. Other than<br>
> buying and installing a new hard drive, I won't lose much sleep over that.<br>
> I might lose a little bit of data, but not enough that I'll be struggling<br>
> with ddrescue over it.<br>
><br>
> JD and I once did a presentation at ALE-NW about backup solutions. There<br>
> are many out there: commercial and open source, local and remote, network or<br>
> disk-to-disk, etc. Pick one (or be like me and pick several) and use them.<br>
> Then enjoy the zen of treating hard drives as the commodities they are, as<br>
> opposed to the heart of your electronic world.<br>
><br>
> (FYI, this all comes from a couple of painful experiences before I<br>
> was enlightened to the path of the backup.)<br>
><br>
> --<br>
> David Tomaschik<br>
> OpenPGP: 0x5DEA789B<br>
> <a href="http://systemoverlord.com" target="_blank">http://systemoverlord.com</a><br>
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</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>David Tomaschik<br>OpenPGP: 0x5DEA789B<br><a href="http://systemoverlord.com" target="_blank">http://systemoverlord.com</a><br><a href="mailto:david@systemoverlord.com" target="_blank">david@systemoverlord.com</a>
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