[ubuntu-uk] External hard disks and backup strategies

[Mark Harrison]

Backups are not archives in my world :-)

So, relating to the home network, not the work one:

- I have a home network with a few machines
- All data gets stored on a server
- I have an external USB hard disk
- Once an HOUR, the server copies everything over to the USB drive 
(rsync is your friend)
- Once an hour, at the "other half of the hour", the server copies "work 
info" over to an ultra-low power PC, also running Ubuntu, so I have a 
third copy of that.

Work info is, in round terms, everything except Ripped Audio...

... so it DOES include my photos, and audio from my own products / 
podcast, etc.


Oh... and I also have two filing cabinets for originals of bank 
statements / mortgage / tax returns / etc. :-)


Mark






David M wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Now that external hard disks are cheap, I'm thinking about getting an
> external hard disk so that I can keep a backup of my data. In fact, I'm
> even thinking of getting *two* for alternate use so that if the worst
> should happen and my system dies while backing up my data I haven't
> toasted both my data and my sole backup..
>
> When it comes to external disks, it seems I have the choice of not only
> a plain-old hard disk connected via USB, but also the possibility of NAS
> (networked-attached storage) where the hard disk is connected to my
> network, and contains a stripped-down OS so that it presents itself as a
> fileserver (I presume?).
>
> Does anybody know how well-supported either of these technologies are in
> Ubuntu? In particular, I'd also want to format the disk in ext3 format
> as I have no need or desire for MSWindows filesystems.
>
>
> On the one hand, NAS seems neat, but I don't have a home network, only a
> cheapo multi-port ADSL modem/router. These things tend to be a bit
> gnarly (and unfriendly) to set up at the best of times, so I don't know
> how easy - let alone whether - it would be possible to set the
> modem/router up to allow my computer to see a NAS disk. And given the 
> horrible potential for unwittingly sharing the contents of a NAS disk 
> with the entire internet, I'd have to be very careful! I gather that it
> is generally the case that any configuration of the NAS box can usually
> be done via a browser front-end; obviously any disk which requires 
> Windows software is a no-no.
>
> On the other hand, a plain-old USB hard disk seems the simpler option. I
> would naively assume that as USB is now well-proven technology, these 
> would work just fine with Ubuntu, but is that the case? How easy would
> it be to automate backups to such a disk? Would it mount with a
> persistent mount point, or would it change with every unplug or system 
> reboot?
>
>
> Then there is the question of what backup strategy I should actually
> use. I was assuming that an automated rsync every week would be the
> easiest, but perhaps there are other possibilities? Something automated,
> once configured, without requiring user intervention is an absolute 
> must: the whole point of doing backups is that I don't have to remember
> to do it!
>
> I mentioned above that having two external hard disks, alternating
> between current latest backup and disk being backed-up to, seemed a good
> strategy, ensuring that I always have one backup at all times.
>
> Alternatively, perhaps some kind of mirror RAID strategy would be worth
> considering, although that would seem to require me to have four hard
> disks to maintain my "always one spare backup" strategy (and is outwith
> my budget!). I also don't know whether USB HDs or NAS HDs are RAID-able.
>
>
> Can anybody offer any advice on this?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> David.
>
>