[olug] To RAID or not to RAID

[Lou Duchez]

Any chance you've got a friend out there on the Internets who would let 
you keep a drive at his place?  For my remote backups, I do a two-step 
process:

1)    rsync is a great way to back data up across a network (including 
the Ethernet), especially where only a little data changes from one 
backup session to the next.  So let's say I use rsync to back up my data 
to "/backups/current" on the remote system.  Which I then follow with 
step 2 ...

2)    /bin/cp -al /backups/current /backups/[date]

What that does is create a dated backup directory, but thanks to the 
magic of the "-l" flag, hard links (not symbolic links) to the files in 
/backups/current are created.  That means I have a logical copy of 
/backups/current that takes up almost no additional drive space because 
it's pointing to the same files on the file system.  Now, if any of 
those files in /backups/current is changed the next time I run rsync, 
the file in /backups/current is unlinked first and a new file is created 
-- but the link to the original in /backups/[date] is left completely 
untouched.



> For the moment, the best I have is a fireproof safe to store the drives
> in.  This is upstairs in the closet, bolted to the wall and shelf, so
> barring a flood that doesn't cover the house, we're good, lol.
>
> As for the drive sled, its transparent to the OS and it doesn't use a
> caddy, the drive sits behind a door and just slides in.
>
> I've looked at online backup solutions but can't afford them at this time.
> On Sep 22, 2014 5:49 PM, "Kevin" <sharpestmarble at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> For online backup, there's a lot of options. I have yet to choose one, so
>> when I do, I'll use Wikipedia's list[1] as a starting point. Then copy the
>> table out to a spreadsheet app(whether Excel or LibreOffice Calc depends on
>> whether I'm at home) and delete rows if they don't match something I want.
>> Then delete the deciding column. You're then left with a bunch of providers
>> whom you can research normally.
>>
>>
>> [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_online_backup_services
>>
>> On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 5:05 PM, Obi-Wan <obiwan at jedi.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On 09/22/2014 04:17 PM, Christopher R. White wrote:
>>>
>>>> Now to replace the old tape drive with one of these and setup a backup
>> job
>>>> to run nightly -
>>>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817998020&Tpk=
>>>> N82E16817998020
>>>> and maybe also a pair of 2 TB HDDs to go with it  ^_-
>>>>
>>> Is that hot-swap bay invisible to the OS, or does it impose another layer
>>> of software between the OS and your hard drive?
>>>
>>> The drawback of the latter type of hot-plug bays (and tape drives, too)
>> is
>>> that you're out of luck if your house burns down or the computer get
>>> stolen.  Sure, you've still got your data, but you can't access any of it
>>> until you get another tape drive of hot-swap bay.  If your backups are
>> to a
>>> USB enclosure, you can plug that into any computer you get your hands on
>> in
>>> the event of an emergency.
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> *Ben "Obi-Wan" Hollingsworth* obiwan at jedi.com <mailto:obiwan at jedi.com>
>>> www.Jedi.com <http://www.jedi.com>
>>> The stuff of earth competes for the allegiance I owe only to the
>>> Giver of all good things, so if I stand, let me stand on the
>>> promise that You will pull me through. /-- Rich Mullins/
>>>
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