[102363] in RedHat Linux List
Re: BRU2000 Personal Edition?
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jan Carlson)
Wed Dec 2 16:07:25 1998
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 16:00:45 -0500
From: Jan Carlson <janc@iname.com>
To: redhat-list@redhat.com, Tundra <tundra@adelphia.net>
Resent-From: redhat-list@redhat.com
Reply-To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Tundra wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Gerry Doris <gdoris@shaw.wave.ca>
> To: redhat-list@redhat.com <redhat-list@redhat.com>
> Date: Monday, November 30, 1998 8:55 PM
> Subject: Re: BRU2000 Personal Edition?
>
> :I've been using the "personal" version ARKEIA to backup my linux and
> :Win98/linux boxes (I only have two...the linux box has the DAT drive and the
> :other switches back and forth from linux to Win98 depending on who is using
> :it). I believe that ARKEIA only supports SCSI tape device(s).
>
> Some perhaps silly newbie questions regarding backup but the mass of information out there has somewhat confused me. In addition, I don't feel I have a real conceptual basis in this and many related areas. I try; simply no real real past experience with PC's except some minor point and clicking in Win. I am in the process of reading several books; some of which still read as gibberish to me.
>
> My main box (currently only win98) has an eide hard drive. Does this effectively preclude use of SCSI type of tape drive?; at least for a beginner like me? A second box (IDE) is also win98 only and used in connection with a small home business of my wife. The third box win95 I hope will be dual boot linux and win. It is the older box and one I hope to first experiment with linux on. Eventually, I would like my main box (i.e. most powerful) to also dual boot. I am simply exercising caution at first.
You can have IDE and SCSI devices in the same computer. To add SCSI, you need to have
a free card slot, and a free bay for mounting the SCSI tape or hard drive, and you need
a free IRQ for the scsi card.
>
>
> No network yet but I hope to connect all to a home network; still looking at alternatives. With prices coming down as they are, it seems fast ethernet is a viable option. Would love to see a high performance kit with 4 or 5 port hub,fast ethernet Nic's and apprpriate supprt personalty. I thought I read Linux supports this..Correct? Any howto's or the like which would better inform me in this regard or any other areas addressed in this article?
See the hardware compatibility list at http://www.redhat.com/support.
Linux supports much popular hardware, but there are exceptions.
Make sure each item is on the 'supported hardware' list, or be sure
you are able to return the item for money back.
>
>
> However, at least what seems a first item of business for me is to identify the appropriate tape drive system that can back up both win98 and linux. The tape backup should have the "restore ability" that apparently can be used to backup not only data but entire applications (with preferences etc) by some sort of imaging tech such as described in some of the HP literature. I assume such back up exists (with reasonable software) at reasonable prices?
Professional quality backup software costs money - for any OS.
It can be done using free software only, but it is a little more difficult,
takes more time to learn, and it is a little less reliable.
The only thing worse than having no backups is having backups
that won't restore when you need them. The only way to be confident
that your free software backup scheme is working is to test it.
And that is not always easy to do. How do you test recovering
from a tape that has gone partially bad?
BRU is very good. Several on redhat-list say that Arkea is veru good.
I'm sure there are more.
First, estimate the dollar value of the info on your systems - what
it would cost (in time, work and pain) to replace in case the machines
were stolen, lets say. Then look at prices for backup software,
and make a decision.
>
>
> The 4 to 8 gig range seems appropriate for my needs. In addition, if possible, when an if I get the boxes networked, I would hope to back up all boxes from the one tape dive if that capability is reasonably priced. My initial thought is to get an external, but am undecided. I am hoping the extertal can be switched from box to box to do the major backups during the time the network is not in place. Is this correct?
External devices are more expensive, but it may be worth it if you don't want
to set up a network for awhile. If you have no network, you need to buy or
develop/test backup software for EACH os you are running, unless you have
Linux on each machine, dual booted.
>
>
> I simply am unsure of all of the hardware and/or software issues that the foregoing raise with respect to purchasing the external tape drive.
>
> Any suggestions, personal experiences and references would be much appreciated. At last wrinkle in the equation;
>
> I currently connect to the net through a cable modem. The cable company installed a nic and created a lan. Thus, my win config (in the internet optioss) indicates I connect through a lan not a dial up connection; but I do dial up to connect through an external cable modem (one way cable). I don't understand conceptually what the cable company was accomplishing nor how it may affect my other plans.
It is possible to network all your machines so each one has access
to the internet, using the one with the cable modem as a gateway.
This requires Linux on the gateway, running ip masquerading, and
some security setup to keep out the vandals.
You can do backup onto one tape on one machine, through
the network, or you can move an external tape from machine
to machine.
You can also use a zip drive instead of a tape, if you just backup
the files that are hard to replace. Most of the files are easy
to replace by reinstalling the OS and software packages.
But, a good backup software package and large tapes should
let you back up everything, and reconstruct the machine
without reinstalling the OS or any other software.
>
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments.
>
> --
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--
Jan Carlson
janc@iname.com Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Mailed with Netscape 4.5 on Red Hat Linux 5.2
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