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Backup Alternatives

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by username1235

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I am curious as to what other members feel about using alternatives (i.e. not tape) for backups. More specifically, I am interested in a IDE or SCSI HDD solution. The only problems that I see are difficulty in remote storage and HDD reliability.
I personally feel more secure using a RAID 1 or 2 drive solution than tape. I believe that data integretity is greater and restores eaiser using HDD's.
This brings me to remote storage. To get the most protection from tapes, they must be stored remotely. We can house the HDD's offsite and connect them using fiber. The infrastructure is already in place.
Perhaps I am missing something really obvious, but I think using HDD's for backup make alot of sense.

Shane

6 replies

by lordinfidel

Let's say you have 30 backup sets backed up to a single drive.

Now that drive blows up. You have just lost all of your backups.

If you have a raid 5 set, then you can get away with having a drive blow. But now you have to look at what happens if the entire server dies/is destroyed. There goes your data.

The point is, backing up to hdd's, regardless of it's configuration, is a single point of failure.

However, a proper tape rotation will give you optimal protection. The common misconception of tape integrity comes from most people never changing out their tapes. If you use the same time every day for a year, expect to have data loss.

But if you have a rotational set of tapes that are changed out daily, you will get better data reliabilty.

I use tapes in all of my locations for backup. Using both DDS4 single drives and DLTIV tape libraries. All of the tapes are rotated on a schedule and the same tape is never written over until a month has expired. And I also archive a set of tapes every 6 months. All tapes are kept offsite in a fireproof/storm proof faciltiy.

Also, keep your backups over a different netwk segment.

by rumbiles

i would agree that a HDD isn't the best way to backup your system. using rotational tapes is more reasonable , it would be more ideal to have about rwo copies. one stays at the main buiding-onsit , the other then goes offsite.
what happens if a disaster occurs and all tapes are stored offsite. a lot of time will be spent trying to bring those tapes onsite and you lose customers . for example in a bank environment, you can't turn away customers while you wait for someone to fetch the tapes. usually the place chosen for offsite storage is a long distance away. it's best to have multiple cpies of backup tapes at strategic storage places.

by lordinfidel

Each back up method is going to depend on the mission critical need of the data.

In high availabilty, zero down-time instances. You would be going with a san solution.

Where there are real time backups being made to disk. (Depending on the SAN, it generally is 2 controllers with each having it's own set of disks aka raid 10)

You would then also backup regularly to tape which is kept on-site. Then you would back up to another set which is kept offsite.

With DB like SQL, you shoulkeep a 2 sets of backups on disk with transaction logs (which happen in small increments, usually 5-10 minutes)

That way you can easily restore quickly. Then a copy of those backups are backed up to tape.

Again, each scenarion is going to call for a different back up method.

by serverjockey

Hi, backup tape allows you to put tapes on the shelf for any length of time you want to have a backup for. I'd imagine it would get pretty expensive putting a 160gb hdd on the shelf and leaving it sit there for a year as opposed to DAT cartridge.

by tbragsda

Tapes fine.

You need to have backups through out the year (even more for some lines of business). You may get requests to restore something from 08/04/01. If your using a HD as backup, you only have one dates backups. Also, your going to have problems working off site backups etc.

Get a good tape drive (I like HP surestore DDS changers. Not too expensive, and can leave for a week) and use quality tapes.

Last point. Don't confuse high availability with DR. Setting up RAIDx is for high availability, backup is for DR.

by djent

There are not many good alternatives to tape for the following reasons, redundancy, entire system images, open file backup, off site security and automation. You may feel that maintaining a tape system is a pain but until some thing better comes along its the best available.

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