[clug] Neat Backup Solutions for desktops...

[Daniel Pittman]

Andrew Janke <a.janke at gmail.com> writes:

>> In my professional life, I can't remember once when I was able to recover
>> from backups easily/simply - sometimes, or at all.  This includes using
>> commercial products & server-grade drives/media.
>
> ditto.
>
> In short I am yet to find a tape based system that doesn't break right
> when you need it.

I have, for a range of media, but ... only where you test the backups
routinely, and the tests are realistic, and work.  OTOH, the number of places
where this happens is smaller than the number of backup systems I have been
handed over the years.

So, yeah: if you have a backup system in your responsibility you better be
doing realistic tests or you will face exactly this problem.

> Especially in situations like having to first get the machine back to a
> state where it can talk to a fibre based SAN to read the data in the first
> place.  (Origin 3800 system + L180 storagetek with FC LTO3's) There was no
> option to have a backup system to read from the tapes as the backup was IRIX
> based and there was no second machine. To buy said second machine would have
> cost $<ridiculous>.

...this bites, though.  That is a heck of a DR plan failure.

        Daniel

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