[wplug] Back-up Scheme for large data

Dan Martin dc.martin at verizon.net
Thu Jun 6 20:00:53 EDT 2013


Hi Jim,

You might want to  make an archive file (or files) on the server in 
Germany, perhaps compressed.
Then you could use  rsync to grab the archive file(s).  If you're 
starting with 200GB, it might
take a while (days) for the archive to traverse the ether.   In the 
meantime, users can continue to
use the live data and you don't have to worry about interfering with them. 

If the transfer craps out, restart rsync.  It will have to check the 
blocks that you already have from
the first pass, but it won't resend identical blocks of the file.

Then unravel the archive locally, and delete the local and remote 
archive files.  Lastly, use rsync to
grab subsequent changes as often as  practical.  

The result will not be an image.  Nor will the result be what most 
admins would consider a "backup."
But you will have a local system synchronized from the remote system.

How will you be using it?  Is it for development and testing?  If you're 
looking for  a true backup, you
can back up the synchronized system to tape, to NAS, etc.  When I use 
the term backup, I'm referring
to a process that would allow you to restore from multiple points in 
time, as you'd accomplish by using
a tape rotation scheme.  

rsync'ing data is not a backup method.  Just today, I had a situation 
where someone wanted a copy of
a file that had been rsync'd to a remote box.  The local file was hosed, 
and of course, so was the remote.
rsync had faithfully synchronized the corrupted file to remote system, 
making both the local and remote
instances useless. 

Good luck,
Dan Martin


Jim Harris wrote:

>Hi Brian,
>The server is located at a hosting company site in Germany and we do not have physical access. In reference to the change rate of the data, are you referring to the amount of data?  We are maybe accessing 25m of data every two weeks or so.  Most of the data is static. 
>
>  
>
>>
>>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 1
>>Date: Wed, 5 Jun 2013 10:39:25 -0400
>>From: Jim Harris <eadjim at hotmail.com>
>>Subject: [wplug] Back-up Scheme for large data
>>To: "wplug at wplug.org" <wplug at wplug.org>
>>Message-ID: <BAY178-W31CBD628A1213B27ED1B05C19F0 at phx.gbl>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>>
>>Hi All,
>>I am looking for any and all suggestions as to how to make a back-up or image of a server that is about 200G in size.  The server is located in a foreign location and the hosting company does not provide the service.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>>Jim Harris 		 	   		  
>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>Message: 2
>>Date: Wed, 5 Jun 2013 10:54:08 -0400
>>From: Brian Makin <merimus at gmail.com>
>>Subject: Re: [wplug] Back-up Scheme for large data
>>To: General user list <wplug at wplug.org>
>>Message-ID:
>>	<CA+1bPC3i4+yM-hKzWhpjwLmbFaoLdAS8w1rGscXvWOouvWGBDw at mail.gmail.com>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>>
>>Onsite or offsite?
>>Can you (or someone) physically access the machine?
>>What is the change rate of the data?
>>
>>
>>On Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 10:39 AM, Jim Harris <eadjim at hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Hi All,
>>>I am looking for any and all suggestions as to how to make a back-up or
>>>image of a server that is about 200G in size.  The server is located in a
>>>foreign location and the hosting company does not provide the service.  Any
>>>suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
>>>Jim Harris
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>wplug mailing list
>>>wplug at wplug.org
>>>http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>------------------------------
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>wplug mailing list
>>wplug at wplug.org
>>http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug
>>
>>
>>End of wplug Digest, Vol 112, Issue 4
>>*************************************
>>    
>>
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