[KLUG Members] LAN backup solutions, anyone?

[Adam Tauno Williams]

> At that small size, using tar to get one requested file or directory is
> still quite impractical do to tar's lack of indexing.  

Yep, 4mm drives are really slow, but it can help if you increase the
block size tar used.  

Newer Ultrium (LTO) drives are wickedly fast, in case anyone is looking
into aquireing a tape drives.  These are definitely the way to go.

> To accomplish the backups of data held on laptop windows, I use rsync.
> During login, the user is asked for an ssh passphrase and rsync does the
> rest and usually completes in 10-30 seconds because it only copies over
> diffs of the modified files.

We simply create a magic share using samba (so that each machine
sees /var/pcnet/backup/%M) and use the native ntbackup utility.  Laptop
users are expected to backup their own machines using ntbackup;
near-idiot-proof instructions are provided.

> To accomplish the backups of linux machies without the tape drive, I use
> rsync there as well.

Does rsync include file permissions and ownership?

> Most all of the backed up data is stored on a large ide drive on a
> machine with the tape drive.  This way, the backup runs without the risk
> of a network resource not being available or having some other
> difficulty.  Works as long as the drive works.  
> ( it has died on me once)

You said it was an IDE drive,  you didn't need to then go on and
explicitly state that it has died. :)

> Soon I won't be using this method.  We purchased some package called
> novaback or something and I'm waiting till it is used in the other parts
> of the corporation until I deploy it.

Hmm.  Never heard of that one.  Let us know how it goes.
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