Re: Recommended Linux Backup

[Paul E Condon <pecondon@mesanetworks.net>]

On 20091030_010001, lrhorer wrote:
> Alex Samad wrote:
> 
> > On Fri, Oct 30, 2009 at 01:37:51AM +0000, Paulo A.B. wrote:
> >> It's based on Rsync, but has a different flavor.
> >> 
> >> Try ribs <http://www.rustyparts.com/ribs.php>.
> > 
> > Or have a look at rdiff-backup
> This doesn't sound to me as if it fits the bill, either.  It sounds
> closer than rsync, but I didn't read anything about changing drives or
> maintaining an index.  Rather, it sounds to me as if it merely creates
> directories with diff files on them on a single remote target.  This
> strategy won't work when one's targets are much smaller than the array
> being backed up.  I haven't seen any 20 TB drives for sale, so this
> backup and restore has to span multiple target drives, all but one of
> which are offline at any given time.
> 

I can't remember the details of your original post, but I remember
reading it. Given your responses to several suggestions, I suggest
that you should reconsider rsync, but not in the way that you seem to
have been doing. I use rsync as for the core functionality of a backup
system that I have implemented with a few dozens lines of bash
scripts. My backup system is very compact and does exactly what I want
for a cluster of four hosts. I didn't offer it, because it doesn't do
what you want, and, frankly, I remembered your specifications as being
poorly thought out.

I think there are a lot of different ideas as to what a backup system
should do. It was a useful learning experience for me to write my own.
My reading of your responses is that it might also be a useful
learning experience for you to write your own. If you embark on such a
project, I think you should not start from scratch with a C++
compiler, only.  Rather you should take rsync as a functioning,
debugged module that you can incorporate into your system to handle
the great bulk of the low level detail work. But I would fault rdiff or
tar, or some other well known software as a starting point.

HTH
-- 
Paul E Condon           
pecondon@mesanetworks.net