[ale] Low-end tapedrives for SOHO environment

[Joe Knapka]

"Greg" <runman at speedfactory.net> writes:

> I have experienced this firsthand.  Since I have more programs than I would
> care to admit, it takes a several weekends to get my main box even close to
> what it was before I have had to reinstall.  If you are running a stock box
> with documented changes then perhaps it "might" not be so bad.  But I
> suspect that most folks (especially IT types) have their main PC's full of
> little programs, links, scripts, etc etc that need to be backed up. A full
> backup is a whole lot less painful than trying to recreate a box.  After you
> have updated, upgraded, and patched a box it's even worse.

I have developed a policy for my personal machine: whenever I install
software, I install it from source, and "./configure
--prefix=~joe/software".  IOW, all the software I use on a daily basis
is installed in my home directory, and as long as I backup /home, I'm
good.

Of course, this prevents me from fully benefitting from all the APT
love...

-- Joe

> Greg
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org]On Behalf Of Alan
> > Dobkin
> > Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 8:03 PM
> > To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> > Subject: Re: [ale] Low-end tapedrives for SOHO environment
> >
> >
> > --On Friday, March 19, 2004 7:37 PM -0500 Geoffrey
> > <esoteric at 3times25.net>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > I realize there are solutions, I just don't see that they're going to
> > > do you any better then a clean install, then reintroduce your backups.
> > > I like the idea you're starting with a clean slate.  Then again, the
> > > full backup will give you all the previously installed software without
> > > having to retrace those steps.
> >
> > Take a look at "The Tao of Backup" site:
> > http://www.TaoBackup.com/
> >
> > They make a pretty good case for doing full backups and other best
> > practice methods.  Make sure to follow the links at the bottom of
> > each page, i.e. "Click for more information on Coverage":
> > http://www.TaoBackup.com/coverage_info.html
> >
> > One danger of not doing full backups is that it is very difficult
> > to identify and track all of the locations that you have stored
> > data which you can't easily retrieve from other sources.  Of course
> > /home and /etc are obvious, but there is also irreplaceable data in
> > /var (i.e. /var/spool/mail, esp. for imap users, /var/log, etc.),
> > /usr/local, /root, and any number of other places.  It is much
> > easier and less prone to error to do a full backup and then simply
> > exclude the directories you don't need, i.e. /tmp, /proc, etc.
> >
> > The other problem with partial backups is that it can take a lot
> > longer to locate and reinstall/recreate the exact same system and
> > application environment you had before.  If you need to be back
> > up and running in a minimal amount of time, full backups with a
> > "bare metal" restore procedure is the best way to go.
> >
> > Alan
> > _______________________________________________
> > Ale mailing list
> > Ale at ale.org
> > http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> >
> 
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> 
> 

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