<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-size:large">I'm using Bacula and it really works for even a swamped guy like me. I worked through the docs enough to get it to do what I wanted. Now if something happens to the file server disks, I can rest easy since I've tested recoveries and backups are rock solid. I recommend it. </div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><font size="4">Sincerely,<br>Dow<br>________________________________________________<br>Dow Hurst, Research Scientist<br>340 Sullivan Science Bldg., Dept. of Chem. and Biochem.<br>
University of North Carolina at Greensboro<br>PO Box 26170 Greensboro, NC 27402-6170</font><br><br></div>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 7:35 AM, 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">
Inline with lots-o-snipping ...<br>
<br>
On 02/21/2013 08:04 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:<br>
> Agree mostly. Disagree slightly.<br>
<br>
Completely understandable.<br>
<br>
> What I will lose is a good amount of sleep and hassle. I far and away prefer<br>
> to have image backups versus any other kind. If the drive did puke, and I<br>
> didn't have a recent image, it would take me probably a week to reinstall the<br>
> os, reinstall all the apps, configure all the apps, install plugins in the<br>
> apps, configure all the plugins on all the apps, and do all the system tweaks<br>
> that I want to make the machine run the way I want. It would probably take<br>
> me another few days to get all my email restored, and rebuild all my filters<br>
> to filter 10's of thousands of messages.<br>
<br>
If you do a backup correctly, it isn't a week to restore, but 15 minutes for a<br>
small box. If it is a VM, less. These are not image-based backups either. To<br>
me, after critical data, settings are the most important things to backup AND<br>
restore. Using current Linux backups, it is fairly simple to backup everything<br>
and restore it. Plus, because it is not extremely hardware sensitive, almost<br>
any machine can be used for the restore.<br>
<br>
> On the other hand, let's say I had cloned the hdd last night. I swap in the<br>
> cloned drive, and I'm literally back up and running within 15 minutes. I<br>
> just restore the latest data from my online backup, download any recent<br>
> email, and re do anything else I remember that occurred since the last online<br>
> backup up to 6 hours ago.<br>
<br>
I've cloned hard drives and still do. well, not really, but I do get a<br>
compressed image that can be restored.<br>
<br>
The main issue with cloning is that it loses backup versioning. We end up with a<br>
mirror and it is HUGE, compared to what actually changed.<br>
<br>
rdiff-backup supports versioned backups. The first, is a mirror. From that<br>
point on, only changed files are moved over into the "mirror" area. Any parts of<br>
files that are replaced during that process are moved into an archived area<br>
permissions captured and gzipped. Notice, that I said parts of files. The<br>
latest backup is always a mirror, so restoring 1 file is just a cp. File<br>
permissions (and ACLs with an addon) are retained across systems. Diffs are<br>
retained in a highly efficient manner. Depending on the change rate and size of<br>
your data, only 10-20% more storage is used for 30-60 days of versioned backups<br>
that required for the mirror. It is amazing.<br>
<br>
Basically, if a virus were to get onto the backup system through backup<br>
processing, I'd have 30 to 60 days to realize it and would see the day that the<br>
file changed.<br>
<br>
Plus all my settings are safe. Probably under 10 seconds to restore ~/.config/<br>
<br>
> Relatively simple and painless. If I can use something like Spinrite to<br>
> recover the drive, even if it's just to clone it to a replacement drive.<br>
> Then I don't lose any data or have to do any reconfiguration.<br>
<br>
What if your clone has the virus you didn't realize that you got 3 weeks ago?<br>
Or simply an important file that you've been working on off and on over 3 weeks<br>
became corrupt?<br>
<br>
> The problem comes into play because I don't clone my drive every night. I<br>
> don't like to leave the backup media attached, since a virus or electrical<br>
> problem could take it out. So, I prefer to attach the backup media only when<br>
> I clone the drive. Also, I have to reboot the machine and boot from a CD to<br>
> do the imaging, then reboot the machine to use it again.<br>
<br>
Backups need to be 100% automatic or they are not done. I used to do manual<br>
backups. After about 18 months, that slowed to monthly manual backups, then<br>
annual .... which is next to worthless. The data far outgrew my ability to back<br>
it up, then a RAID0 set had 1 HDD fail. I lost 80% of my data, due to my own<br>
foolishness. These days, I don't add storage without adding backup storage too.<br>
<br>
> The end result is that my image backups don't get done too often,<br>
> particularly with 4 PC's. So, if I could find a way to automatically clone<br>
> each PC's hard drive every night, or at least every week, and automatically<br>
> detach and shut down the backup media when done, and reattach it when the<br>
> next clone job is due, then I could be in a position to really not care too<br>
> much if a drive fails. If I could get snapshot versions like JD has<br>
> mentioned elsewhere in this thread, so much the better. My number one goal<br>
> for my backup is to enable me to restore a complete system, including all<br>
> data, all applications, and all settings, either within 15 minutes, or at<br>
> most within a few hours.<br>
<br>
For cloning PC OSes, check out partimage. It can write over the network, but<br>
because it does an image, it does need to be booted outside the normal OS. A<br>
500MB partition just for imaging could make a lot of sense, rather than having a<br>
USB drive that needs to be moved around. Data should be backed up more<br>
efficiently. IMHO. Images need to be minimal and only have a place for<br>
MS-Windows. On Linux, it simply is not necessary. librsync is fantastic and<br>
most Linux-based backup tools use it.<br>
<br>
30 minutes to image after booting a different OS<br>
or<br>
2 minutes to backup all the data while leaving the machine running.<br>
You can pick.<br>
<br>
Backup tools have come a long way in the last 2 years. Duplicity (and the 10<br>
GUIs built on top of it) have brought the "best practices" to a home user.<br>
<br>
Bacula is impressive, but it is definitely an enterprise-class tool with<br>
enterprise-class complexity.<br>
<br>
BTW, I know that most of my backups work. I've moved machines for about 7<br>
machines recently. Basically, I just did a backup, shutdown 1 box, brought up<br>
the other and restored.<br>
<br>
Isn't that how it should work?<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div>