Backup Solutions

[Graeme]

Hi
I'm after suggestions as to go about backing up our server files on a small
network (around 20 clients and maybe 40 active users).

Currently we use a DAT Tape Drive (single tape only) which runs full backups
on alternate drives on alternate nights. Our disc capacity is going to
exceed even this soon so I'm after a not so expensive solution (we cannot
afford a super-duper tape drive that costs zillions). I've recently ditched
the Yosemite backup software that came with the tape drive and use ntbackup.

I was wondering if it would be possible to backup to a swappable hard disc
on the network (or even in the server) as a cheaper solution?

All advice, suggestions and hints appreciated

Graeme

 

[Brian Cryer]

Hi
I'm after suggestions as to go about backing up our server files on a
small
network (around 20 clients and maybe 40 active users).

Currently we use a DAT Tape Drive (single tape only) which runs full
backups
on alternate drives on alternate nights. Our disc capacity is going to
exceed even this soon so I'm after a not so expensive solution (we cannot
afford a super-duper tape drive that costs zillions). I've recently
ditched
the Yosemite backup software that came with the tape drive and use
ntbackup.

I was wondering if it would be possible to backup to a swappable hard disc
on the network (or even in the server) as a cheaper solution?

All advice, suggestions and hints appreciated

Graeme

We went through the same process about a year and a half ago, ditching our
old DAT and looking for adequate backup that didn't cost the earth.

What we went for were removable IDE disks - the advantage being that they
are (relatively) cheap, but the obvious disadvantage being that you have to
power the machine down to remove them. We got over this issue by buying a
separate pc and mounted the disks in that. (The justification for buying
separate pc was that it was that it still worked out much cheaper than
buying a tape auto-changer, which was the only other viable option for us.)

If we were doing it again, I would still go for the disk option rather than
tape but I would go for USB 2 attached (IDE)disks and attach them directly
to the server.

Hope this helps.

 

[Graeme]

We went through the same process about a year and a half ago, ditching our
old DAT and looking for adequate backup that didn't cost the earth.

What we went for were removable IDE disks - the advantage being that they
are (relatively) cheap, but the obvious disadvantage being that you have to
power the machine down to remove them. We got over this issue by buying a
separate pc and mounted the disks in that. (The justification for buying
separate pc was that it was that it still worked out much cheaper than
buying a tape auto-changer, which was the only other viable option for us.)

If we were doing it again, I would still go for the disk option rather than
tape but I would go for USB 2 attached (IDE)disks and attach them directly
to the server.

Hope this helps.

Hi Brian

This was the route that I was (mostly) thinking of. I can rig up an old PC
to run as the backup machine quite easily and IDE discs are, as you say,
cheap. A USB disc plugged into that sort of setup would perhaps be a viable
solution at a decent price.

Many thanks

Graeme

 

[Hank Arnold]

I'd look into external hard drive boxes that allow for "hot" drive
replacements

 

[Brian Cryer]

This was the route that I was (mostly) thinking of. I can rig up an old PC
to run as the backup machine quite easily and IDE discs are, as you say,
cheap. A USB disc plugged into that sort of setup would perhaps be a
viable
solution at a decent price.

If you go for USB disks (which is what I'd do now), there is no need for a
separate PC, because you can eject USB disks. (For "eject" read "safely
remove hardware" via the icon in the notification area, before unplugging.)
So there really shouldn't be a need for a separate pc. We use a separate pc
because we have IDE disks mounted in caddies, but I think the USB option is
much simpler.

 

[burnley]

We went the DVD option. I wrote a back-up program that users run to
backup their files (outlook, OE, my docs, or any other they want), then
at night windows backup puts all these into a backup. This is then
burnt to DVD-RW each day (3 in total) for off site backup. Takes 20
mins per DVD, but since its in my office, its no hassle performing it.
Other advantage is that we have historical backup each month, which is
useful when someone has deletted an email 4 months ago and now wants
it.

We looked into USB hard drives, but we'd need two 20GB hard drives so
we can always have a back-up off site.

 

[Brian Cryer]

We went the DVD option. I wrote a back-up program that users run to
backup their files (outlook, OE, my docs, or any other they want), then
at night windows backup puts all these into a backup. This is then
burnt to DVD-RW each day (3 in total) for off site backup. Takes 20
mins per DVD, but since its in my office, its no hassle performing it.
Other advantage is that we have historical backup each month, which is
useful when someone has deletted an email 4 months ago and now wants
it.

We looked into USB hard drives, but we'd need two 20GB hard drives so
we can always have a back-up off site.

Yes, dvd is often overlooked. Given that so many pcs have dvd writers its a
quite viable form of backup and it gives you a permanent historic record -
which is something we lack going the disk route.

That said, it does depend on the quantity of data. We currently backup up to
a 300GB disk which then gets cycled off site once a week. This includes a
backup of our three servers and all the office pcs. Backing up to dvds
probably isn't viable for us, but it is a solution that would be perfectly
adequate for many.

Both disk and dvd have an enormous speed advantage over tape, especially if
you ever need to recover something.

 

[Graeme]

We went the DVD option. I wrote a back-up program that users run to
backup their files (outlook, OE, my docs, or any other they want), then
at night windows backup puts all these into a backup. This is then
burnt to DVD-RW each day (3 in total) for off site backup. Takes 20
mins per DVD, but since its in my office, its no hassle performing it.
Other advantage is that we have historical backup each month, which is
useful when someone has deletted an email 4 months ago and now wants
it.

We looked into USB hard drives, but we'd need two 20GB hard drives so
we can always have a back-up off site.

Hi Burnley & Brian

I'm going to need to backup at least 80gb of data so the DVD idea (whilst
one I may use at home) will not work at - work.

I've decided to go the way of Brian's suggestion and look for a couple of
USB externals - swap them over every Monday and the one not in use can then
go live offsite.

Graeme

 

[Phil]

Hi
I'm after suggestions as to go about backing up our server files on a small
network (around 20 clients and maybe 40 active users).

Currently we use a DAT Tape Drive (single tape only) which runs full backups
on alternate drives on alternate nights. Our disc capacity is going to
exceed even this soon so I'm after a not so expensive solution (we cannot
afford a super-duper tape drive that costs zillions). I've recently ditched
the Yosemite backup software that came with the tape drive and use ntbackup.

I was wondering if it would be possible to backup to a swappable hard disc
on the network (or even in the server) as a cheaper solution?

All advice, suggestions and hints appreciated

Graeme

Graeme, after literally years of being unhappy with our backup
"solutions" (ArcServe, NovaBack, BackupExec), we've gone to a sort of
hybrid disk to disk to tape setup. I don't want to sound like a
commercial here, but we use Acronis TrueImage Server to create images
of our systems which are stored on external USB drives attached to a
central server. The images only are backed up with BackupExec to SDLT
tapes which are rotated off-site daily for disaster recovery purposes.
We keep a week's worth of images on the external drives for restoring
the odd directory or file that a user will accidentally delete, as
TrueImage can mount these images as a drive from which to simply copy
back whatever has been lost. In your situation it would be perfectly
reasonable to have a couple of large external drives and rotate them
weekly. If a system fails completely, a like-to-like hardware restore
is simplicity itself, and restoring to different hardware isn't too big
an issue. Generally we just do the restore and then run Windows 200x
Server setup and do a Repair to get the correct disk drivers in. To do
a complete restore you boot from a CD made with the backup software (a
customized Linus distro), tell it where the images are stored on your
network and off you go. The disk sizes don't even have to be the same,
as long as you have enough space to restore the actual data itself from
the failed system. The sofware has a built-in disk manager that will
expand or contract the volume sizes as you need.

Good luck.

 

[Brian Cryer]

Hi Burnley & Brian

I'm going to need to backup at least 80gb of data so the DVD idea (whilst
one I may use at home) will not work at - work.

I've decided to go the way of Brian's suggestion and look for a couple of
USB externals - swap them over every Monday and the one not in use can
then
go live offsite.

Graeme

I'd suggest a minimum of three. This is because the worst case scenario is
that you bring in your off-site disk (intending to swap it over) and then
have a fire in the office - destroying your equipment, the disk you've
recently backed up onto and the one you've just brought in. If you have
three then you always have one off site. Just a recommendation.

 

[Graeme]

I'd suggest a minimum of three. This is because the worst case scenario is
that you bring in your off-site disk (intending to swap it over) and then
have a fire in the office - destroying your equipment, the disk you've
recently backed up onto and the one you've just brought in. If you have
three then you always have one off site. Just a recommendation.

Hi

OK - three it is then - I can source 3 x 250Mb external USB drives for the
same price as a tape streamer (excluding tapes). That's good enough for me!

Thanks

Graeme

 

[Graeme]

I'd suggest a minimum of three. This is because the worst case scenario is
that you bring in your off-site disk (intending to swap it over) and then
have a fire in the office - destroying your equipment, the disk you've
recently backed up onto and the one you've just brought in. If you have
three then you always have one off site. Just a recommendation.

Hi

OK - three it is then - I can source 3 x 250Mb external USB drives for the
same price as a tape streamer (excluding tapes). That's good enough for me!

Thanks

Graeme

 

[Cameron Dorrough]

Hi all, after reading this thread and thinking about the robustness of *our*
current tape backup system, I think we'll go this way too.

1. Can anyone recommend a rugged, reliable brand of >80GB external USB
drives to use for this purpose?

2. Is there any way to "eject" USB drives from the command line??

Thanks in advance,
Cameron