Re: backing up - RAID or tape drive?

[Julius Smith <jos w3k org>]

I prefer a manual replacement for RAID using rsync (to maintain the ability 
to recover from unintended deletions).  I also prefer CD-ROMs to tapes, but 
of course that only works for relatively small backup sets.  (DVD-ROMs will 
be more interesting).

I use rsync to mirror locally as follows:

	rsync -au /etc /home /root /usr/local /bkp/

where /bkp is a separate backup drive.  This is in the file 
/etc/cron.daily/daily-mirror and runs every night at 4am.

I also rsync to a remote server (via DSL in the slow direction) as follows:

       rsync -e /usr/bin/ssh -avvuz /home/me/ mirror:~/ | perl -e "while 
(<>) { print unless m/uptodate/ }"

where 'mirror' is listed in my /etc/hosts file.  (Say 'man rsync' to 
investigate my rather conservative and verbose options.)  I do not use 
'--delete' in these frequent backups as a safety measure.  Once in a while 
I do a manual '--delete' to clean things up.

Finally, I burn project-specific CD-ROMs once in a while, particularly when 
leaving a project for a while.  I usually make two of each so one copy can 
be stored in a different building.

Julius