Network backup problems

[meandmine]

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Monte Milanuk wrote:
> So... got an old PC online and running as a Linux file server, running ssh and 
> samba.  Main OS is on a 13.8GB PATA drive, with a 12.2GB / partition, and a 
> 1.5GB partition for swap.  There are two 500GB SATA drives set up in a software 
> RAID 1 configuration mounted under /srv.  I have BackupPC running, and I am 
> trying to get the initial full backup done.  Unfortunately this is proving to be 
> more of a PITA than I had anticipated.
> 
> The network layout is like this: PPPOE over fiber to the ISP.  I have a Buffalo 
> wifi router/access point plugged into the wall, connected to the ISP.  I have 
> the following connected via 802.11g wireless: a Macbook (mine), another Macbook 
> (wife's from the school district), the daughter's HP laptop (when she's home), 
> and my main HP desktop PC (actually this has an Atheros a/b/g/n dual channel 
> wireless adapter, but the main network is 802.11g).  Also connected to the wifi 
> router via a cat5 ethernet cable to one of the LAN ports is the server.
> 
> The plan *was* to backup the 'Users' directory on the desktop PC, the HP laptop, 
> and the two macboooks... and then perhaps use the 'Archive' function of BackupPC 
> to an external hard drive for a little additional peace of mind.
> 
> The problem is... the drive capacities are huge relative to the network speeds 
> I'm getting.  The desktop has a 640GB hard drive, and the laptop has a 500GB 
> hard drive.  The two macbooks have 40-60GB hard drives, but they are both 
> getting close to end of life.  The two larger machines aren't anywhere near 
> full, but even after setting the config.pf file for BackupPC to skip any CD/DVD 
> images, Virtualbox disk images, or TrueCrypt volumes, the remainder on the 
> desktop PC is considerable - lots of pictures and videos and a metric crap load 
> in the iTunes directory ;)  With a *peak* transfer rate from the PC of about 20 
> Mbit/s, and average somewhere below 15... well, the Atheros wifi adapter on the 
> PC has locked up about five times already, requiring me to restart the full 
> backup :(
> 
> Once it gets done - if it gets done... subsequent incremental backups shouldn't 
> be so bad - until I download another seasons worth of a television series ;)
> 
> I figure I can hook the laptops up via ethernet and speed things up 
> considerably, at least for that first full backup.  Would doing the transfer 
> over ssh/rsync be noticeably faster than using Samba, considering the weak link 
> seems to be the wifi connection?  I've also thought of going ahead and getting 
> that external drive I mentioned earlier, backing up to it from the PC and then 
> using it to 'pre-seed' the backup directory on the server.  If it worked the way 
> I'm picturing in my mind, it'd be a fairly convoluted evolution, and definitely 
> not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.  If anyone has any ideas or 
> suggestions short of packing up the desktop PC and hauling it downstairs to hook 
> up to the router via cat5... I'm open. 
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Monte
> 
Maybe try imaging each disc to a dvd, or cd. Then, on the server,
install each image in a separate partition. Then for the next backup,
just do a diff for each partition.
In other words, just change the backup to what was changed on the original.
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