Re: Backup Consensus?
On Tue, 28 Jan 2003 10:22, Pigeon wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 27, 2003 at 11:03:47PM +1100, bob parker wrote:
> > On Mon, 27 Jan 2003 08:32, Grant Bowman wrote:
> > > Is there a place where a general consensus has been reached on exactly
> > > what is necesary to backup a Debian system? I'm sure this has been
> > > asked and answered many times before, so I am looking for URLs to where
> > > this has been discussed in the past.
> > >
> > > I apologize in advance, but I'm not a subscriber of this list. Please
> > > cc me on replies.
> > >
> > > Thank you very much,
> >
> > FWIW I first of all dump my postgres databases into $HOME, then make a
> > list of my installed (debian) packages, also in $HOME.
> >
> > I then backup $HOME excluding browser cache files, /etc and /usr/local.
> >
> > My idea is that after a disaster I'd make a minimum debian install,
> > restore $HOME, /usr/local. After that I'd reinstall my packages from the
> > list I gathered and then selectively restore /etc to get my configs back
> > the way I had them.
> >
> > I've never used this in anger and I'd welcome any suggestions from the
> > wiser heads out there.
>
> Well, this is almost exactly what I did when I found I couldn't
> straightforwardly upgrade from slink to woody, and needed to install
> woody but keep all my settings from slink. Main difference is I didn't
> save /usr/local, since it was full of stuff I'd need to recompile
> anyway to work with the upgraded libc6. It worked... very well. See
> thread "Can't upgrade from slink to woody" or similar. The only
> problems I had were specific to the upgrade situation and wouldn't
> arise when restoring the original version.
>
> Couple of suggestions:
> - might be an idea to save /var as well
> - if you're into kernel customising, make sure you have a rescue
> kernel with built-in support for all your critical hardware (ie, not
> as modules). I NEARLY got caught without a kernel that would recognise
> my Initio 9100UW SCSI card, but managed to find one. (Phew!)
>
> Pigeon
Thanks for the support. Re /var, I just did a du -h on it and mine comes out
at 1.1 gig! Any thoughts on what is essential and what is not?
Regards
Bob
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