Re: Backing up Windows using rsync

[Alvin Oga <aoga@mail.Linux-Consulting.com>]

hi ya tac

> Question: Is there a better way to do what I'm doing? And is there already a 
> piece of software that exists on the NET that does what I'm doing better and 
> I should trying to re-invent the wheel? :-)

to do backup.. it implies you want the "backup" to be intact if something
goes wrong with  the main disk of the systems you're supposed to be
backing up

	if you did "rm -rf /", than you probably don't want rsync to
	erase your backup

	  murphy's law will dictate you will do that rm -rf a minute or
	  two before your rsync start and you just stepped off to get
	  coffee ( aka pee break )
	
	- rsync is NOT good for backup unless you know why you're using
	rsync, which is typically, to keep the 2nd PC as a hot replacement
	for the primary or load balanacing where all machines are to
	be identical, including identically corrupted ..

	- if you turn off --delete than you're gonna have a hard time
	figuring out what files to delete on what day ...

	- if you did NOT save the previous copy... you lost that original
	data forever ...

----------

backups of windows imply you will need samba.. and that implies
your scripts or other people's scripts can probably handle silly
things that windoze folks does with file names

	C:\My Documents\Joe's birthday party.mpg

	C:\My Docudments\special "party"

	gazillion email boxes with virus (still?) attached


using simple tricks may or may not work on "joe's files"

	mount windoze /mnt/win2K
	find /mnt/win2k -mtime -8 | tar zcvf /mnt/BACKUP/monday.tgz  -T -
	umount /mnt/win2k

	but that's when things gets to be fun

	and add the addition fun when you try to restore windoze files
	on NTFS based systems

-- to do proper backups ... of windoze too ..

	- you will need to know what you're doing and what you want
	and what the scripts does in detail .... 

	- especially when you have zero control of file Name's used
	by the ceo of the company that expects you to backup his 
	"special filenamed file" for the companie's use

- backups is worthless if you cannot restore to a particular
  date and time which is when the problem started to occur

- backups is worthless if you overwrite ysterday/last-weeks good
  backups with todays corrupt files	

- hundreds of fun stuff ...

- fun stuff to see what people do to screw up backups, restores ...
  or that they expect to find a 2 line file they erased that has
  their passwd in it, to find that file in 10TeraByte of user data
  and they dont know what the filename was

c ya
alvin