[lug] figuring out amanda config

[Zan Lynx]

On Mon, 2006-10-30 at 17:45 -0700, David L. Anselmi wrote:
> D. Stimits wrote:
> > I'm trying to figure out how to use amanda  to do a network backup to a
> > machine with extra disk space
> 
> Bacula will do what you want and has a Windows client.  It isn't trivial 
> to set up but the docs are there.  I can send you a config for backup to 
> disk.
> 
> > (I know, drives are not a backup medium, but it is cheap and better than nothing).
> 
> I guess it depends what you mean by backup medium but I don't use tape, 
> just disk.  Including rotation off site.  FWIW.
> 
> Dave

Yeah, we use disk for backup as well.  Tape is just an incredible pain
in the ass, and not more reliable in my experience.  Tapes go bad and
tape drives go bad and you have to track and manage piles of tapes,
never use one more than its recommended write count, etc, etc...
Hideous.

They do have an advantage in that if one bit of data goes bad the rest
is still OK.  Unless the tape drive eats it and spits out little mangled
bits of tape.  Then most data is probably still OK but you need a data
recovery specialist to get at it.

If you just need something to recover from a failed server, or a fire,
or whatever ... short term use, then disk is great.  Use more than one
drive and rotate, of course.  Heck, 250 GB external drives are cheaper
and faster than 250 GB tapes!  We can get the drives for $80.  Just look
at the price of tapes for those AIT-3 drives.
-- 
Zan Lynx <zlynx at acm.org>
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