On 12/04/07 16:19, Michael Pobega wrote: > On Tue, Dec 04, 2007 at 04:04:47PM -0600, Ron Johnson wrote: >> On 12/04/07 15:09, Michael Pobega wrote: >>> What is d-u's preferred method of backups? Now that I'm running servers >>> on my system (Apache, MySQL, SSH, etc.) I need to find a good method of >>> backing up, because no matter how much security someone has things may >>> still go wrong. >>> >>> So list your preferred methods of creating/restoring backups and the >>> pros and cons. Thanks! >> *Much* more information needed. > > > Sorry, I wasn't thinking. > >> How much stuff? 50MB? 5GB? 500GB? 5TB? > > > 80GB HDD. It isn't full, of course, but that's the maximum (Currently > about 45 GB) > >> How compressible is it? Text/MySQL files or MP3s and JPGs? > > > I wouldn't know the answer to that questions. MySQL dumps are compressible (unless it's compressed during the dump phase). Text is compressible. OOo, AbiWord, Gnumeric, etc aren't. >> How important is it? Your own stuff, or a business' stuff? > > > It's pretty important; It's my own stuff, it has all of my school work, > programming work, pictures, videos, and configuration files on it. Pictures and video obviously aren't compressible. >> How big of a window do you have to back it up? 30 minutes at 23:15, >> and you're fired if it goes past midnight? All night between 17:30 >> and 07:30? > > > A weekly night-backup would be my preferred method. Perfectly adequate for home use. >> How often will the lusers will "Michael, this stupid computer ate my >> work. Bring it back!!" (Meaning, of course, that they >> stupidly/carelessly deleted/overwrote it.) If it's a database, will >> the developers want regular copies restored for testing? > > > It's just my own stuff...The odds are probably low of someone deleting > my work by accident, but better safe than sorry. Tar (or rsync) your source trees on an hourly basis to a totally separate directory. Volatile stuff needs to be saved frequently. >> Frequency? Nightly, weekly, every-other-day? > > > Weekly. > >> Retention? Keep backups for a month? Quarter? Year? 7 years? > > > I'd probably keep backups for two weeks, so I've have two backups at any > given time. > >> Budget? Always a killer... > > > I have another laptop sitting around with a 60GB HDD; Could I use that > as a backup? > > Otherwise all I have is a 4GB pendrive and no money (But I could get my > hands on an 80GB External HDD easily) 3 weeks till Santa-bot tries to trim the tree with your entrails and deck the halls with your guts. I'm sure he could hurl an empty external case or two at you. >> As for backing it up, tar. Works like a champ. > > > Just `tar -cvvf backup-`date`.tar /`? Is it really that simple? Plain old "date"? No. I prefer `date +%y%m%d.%H%M`. Attached is my backup shell script. Modify it for your own purposes. (Note that my login name is "me", and user "heather" is out there too.) -- Ron Johnson, Jr. Jefferson LA USA %SYSTEM-F-FISH, my hovercraft is full of eels
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