Advice on external backup of a Linux server.

[Bill Gradwohl]

Arthur Pemberton wrote:

> What's the best solution for an unattended backup medium for a Linux 
> server? I was looking at a USB externall HDD - but seems to me that 
> the HDD would have to be turned on for the backup to done. I also 
> looked at a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution, but these started 
> at $250.
>
> Any on the cheap ideas compatible with FC3?

I put a second drive in the same chassis and just rsync whatever I want 
from the primary drive to the "backup" drive. I'm not concerned with 
fire, flood or tornado destroying the whole box. Should anything happen 
to the primary drive, I'd install a new one, bring up an O/S and move 
back whatever I needed from the "backup". Cheap solution.

If you need a disaster recovery solution which means off site storage of 
the backups, then a USB drive could be your "backup" drive utilizing the 
same technique.

You could even swap between a few external drives so that you have a USB 
drive in use, one on the shelf, one in the safety deposit box, one home, 
one in the car, etc. Get as crazy as you like. :-)

-- 
Bill Gradwohl
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