[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On Mon, 11 Oct 2010, Gibbs wrote:
Hi all,I've been assigned a task (in a couple of weeks) to automate the way our company backs up its data.Currently we have an inhouse server (Ubuntu Server 10.04), 2 computers (one Windows Vista, one Ubuntu 10.10) and a laptop (Windows Vista again sigh)... I have no expertise in the field of backups whatsoever but I manage our nifty little server. We need offsite backups.What I was thinking... Sync all computers to the server and then have the server periodically archive (password protect?) then upload to some remote location. I have no idea what the remote location will be but I assume it would be relatively cheap. The computers syncing would probably make the backup size in the region of 100-200GB? I can't be sure yet but that's probably a reasonably accurate estimate.So. Any advice, solutions or ideas?
Wot Simon & Grant said .... especially the bit from Simon about getting the data back again!
Realistically, you can not get it back via the Internet in a sensible time-frame for that sort of data.
Also, you can not send 100-200GB over the Internet every night - well, not unless you've got a stupidly fast connection. Think in the region of 1-2GB per night on an ADSL line...
So... Have you thought about tapes. Seriously. We all talk about rsync and using the Internet, but for that quantity data and ease of use, tapes are a very viable alternative. Very trusted and well understood.
And reassuringly expensive, but how valuable is your data?Pick a system that will handle at least 300GB natively (forget the tapes compression ability) It will be SCSI.
A very quick search finds: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/storage/dltstoragedrives/Quantum/TR-S34BX-YE.html £2500 ish. Don't forget the tapes too - Hm. more expensive that I remember: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/storage/storagemedia/sdltstoragemedia/quantum/mr-s2mqn-01.html£65 each, but shop around... I'd suggest 10 to start with, then a new one each month as you create long-term archives.
You'll need a SCSI card too.Pool all your data overnight onto one server if possible - if nothing else, that will give you an "oh sh*t" backup to protect against accidental file deletion the following day...
Then use tape to take a backup of that server. I'd suggest you use Amanda. It's a really old, but very well used bit of software that can automate almost everything for you - sending you email to tell you what take to put it, allowing you to take a tape out of the cycle monthly to keep an archive, telling you when you've put in the wrong tape, and so on. You will need some command-liney skills to get it going though, but it will be worth it in the end.
http://www.amanda.org/Although maybe someones written something better with a GUI by now - I've been using it for some 16 years now...
Don't forget to get a nice pelican box to take the tapes off-site to store them somewhere safe (ie. in your cellar) and remember to bring them back on-site again....
And do forget to do a test restore every now and then... Gordon
-- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq