RE: [cobalt-users] Backups

[elmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Tue, 13 Feb 2001, Chris Mason wrote:

} If you backup the whole machine ebfore a crash then rsync it back the way it
} was, it should be a mirror of the machine before the backup, no?

Assuming you have rsync'd everything and maintained the attributes
of all the files, indeed it should be a mirror. Regardless, I firmly
believe you should have a restore CD standing by.

	There is more to backups than just mirroring a server. You
ought to think about setting up an incremental schedule. For
example, each week we do a full backup of all the files on all of
our servers. We run a four week cycle on these. Week five's backup
overwrites the week one backup. We also backup user content daily,
running a 7 day cycle on those. Many of our competitors do more than
this. We just bought some more factory referbished servers this
week. When they arrive we'll more than likely stretch the schedule
to two months. The point is that one mirror may not be enough. You
could easily delete something important and not notice for weeks,
months perhaps. That's why it's a good idea to have a restore CD
handy. If you really get in trouble that CD may save your tush.