Whither the ide-tape module

[Bob McClure Jr]

On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 01:09:08PM -0800, Rick Stevens wrote:
> Bob McClure Jr wrote:
> >On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 11:57:19AM -0800, Rick Stevens wrote:
> >
> >>Bob McClure Jr wrote:
> >>
> >>>On Mon, Feb 28, 2005 at 11:13:31AM -0800, Rick Stevens wrote:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>Bob McClure Jr wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>Or do I accelerate my plan to start backing up to DVDs?
> >>>>
> >>>>ide-tape is ancient and not particularly reliable.  DVDs are one option.
> >>>>So are things such as DAT or DLT (if you like tape).
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>I used to be.  Unfortunately, it seemed that I could buy expensive
> >>>drives that used cheap tapes, or cheap drives that used expensive
> >>>tapes.  Since the price has come way down on DVD (re)writers and
> >>>media, I think I know where I'm headed.
> >>
> >>Yeah, DVDs are a good idea, except for the extra space needed to build
> >>the DVD image before burning it.
> >
> >
> >Umm, your next response mentions the low cost of disk drives. (Gotch
> >last :-)
> 
> Well, yeah, you can put in another drive just to create the images, but
> why not just back up to that drive instead?  I do.

1. I want to take my backups off-site for safety.

2. I don't want to use removable drives.  One of my clients has had
   two nearly new 200GB IDE drives in removable carriers go south with
   a 55-gallon drum of disk errors in the last two weeks.  I suspect
   he thumped them badly.  He has been using them for backups.

> Actually, I do "live" backups to firewire (instantly bootable), and due
> to my "tinkering" (read: shooting myself in the foot occasionally), VERY
> useful.

I also want a reasonable history of backups, so that I can retrieve
that file I hosed two weeks ago.

> I do archival backups to DLT.  Once I have a week's worth of DLT tapes,
> they get burned to DVD and put away.  The DLT tapes then get recycled.
> Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they AREN'T out to get me!
> 
> >>>>At the current
> >>>>cost of disk drives, an IEEE 1394 (firewire) or USB 2.0 enclosure and a
> >>>>80GB drive make for a pretty cheap and reliable backup.  If you do it
> >>>>right, you can even boot off it for emergency recovery.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>It would be a British understatement to say that I'm miffed.
> >>>>
> >>>>Again, VERY few people used ide-tape.  It's been termed "legacy" so it's
> >>>>not a standard module any longer.  Installing the kernel source does
> >>>>require a couple of extra steps and the reason for it is in the release
> >>>>notes (you did read them, didn't you?).
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>Yes, I usually do.  Must have missed any notes about the impending
> >>>demise of ide-tape.
> >>
> >>The bit about the release notes was in regard to the demise of the
> >>kernel-source RPMs and why you have to install the kernel source RPM and
> >>do the rpmbuild on it.
> >
> >
> >Oh.  Well, yeah, I saw that note.  That wasn't a surprise.  It was
> >just that it complicated a possible solution to the surprising problem
> >(disappearance of ide-tape).
> 
> Yeah.  But since I don't use ide-tape (well, once WAY back when the ice
> sheets still covered most of North America), I never really noticed its
> demise.  I fell into DEC's TK70s, then DAT, then DLT (TK70s on
> steroids).
> 
> Heck, I even still have an old Kennedy 9-track that works (it last was
> connected to a RH9 system via an Adaptec 2940).  Newbies freak out when
> I fire that bad boy up!  Especially because the system used to play a
> sound file when it saw that drive:
> 
>     "Greetings, Professor Falkin!  Would you like to play a game?"
> 
> Ah, memories!  Now, finding 9-track tape at a reasonable cost...that's
> tough!

Uh, oh.  I sense an impending trip down memory lane, usually involving
the competitive, "Oh, yeah?  Well, I still have ...", usually
including the exchange:

"We programmed in 1s and 0s."

"You had 1s?!?!"

Me, I'm heading for the hills.

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> - Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
> - VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
> -                                                                    -
> -           What is a "free" gift?  Aren't all gifts free?           -
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------

Cheers,
-- 
Bob McClure, Jr.             Bobcat Open Systems, Inc.
robertmcclure at earthlink.net  http://www.bobcatos.com
The best home improvement manual is the Bible.