From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Aug 21 22:04:20 2009 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4A229106568D for ; Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:04:20 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from prvs=4771fbda3=pschmehl_lists@tx.rr.com) Received: from ip-relay-002.utdallas.edu (ip-relay-002.utdallas.edu [129.110.20.112]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1B9D88FC26 for ; Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:04:19 +0000 (UTC) X-Group: RELAYLIST X-IronPort-AV: E=Sophos;i="4.44,252,1249275600"; d="scan'208";a="15297341" Received: from smtp3.utdallas.edu ([129.110.20.110]) by ip-relay-002.utdallas.edu with ESMTP; 21 Aug 2009 16:35:28 -0500 Received: from utd65257.utdallas.edu (utd65257.utdallas.edu [129.110.3.28]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by smtp3.utdallas.edu (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 25CA34EF4A; Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:35:28 -0500 (CDT) Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:35:28 +0000 From: Paul Schmehl To: jalmberg@identry.com, Jeffrey Goldberg Message-ID: In-Reply-To: <1250889262.v2.mailanyonewebmail-542936@fuse114> References: <1250889262.v2.mailanyonewebmail-542936@fuse114> X-Mailer: Mulberry/4.0.6 (Linux/x86) X-Munged-Reply-To: Figure it out MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: What should be backed up? X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list Reply-To: Paul Schmehl List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:04:20 -0000 --On Friday, August 21, 2009 16:14:22 -0500 John Almberg wrote: > > That raises another question... How feasible is it to restore a server > from these backups? Is it really possible to install 7.2 on a new machine > and then just copy the backed up data onto the new machine? > > I guess I should really verify the value of my backups by trying to do > exactly that! > I once had a 5.4 machine that lost its primary hard drive. (Was supposed to be RAID mirrored, but this was the only boot drive.) We got a new drive, installed a fresh copy of 5.4 and copied back all the data files. Those were "backed up" using rsync to a USB drive I keep at work. This was a standalone internet addressable server running http, imaps, dns and a pot full of other things - the only server for this domain. (It now has two.) Everything worked as expected, and no data was found to be missing or unrecoverable. We were down for a while, but we lost nothing. And yes, you should test your recovery procedures to make sure your backups are actually working. There's nothing like trying to restore from backup only to discover your backups were never really working. -- Paul Schmehl, Senior Infosec Analyst As if it wasn't already obvious, my opinions are my own and not those of my employer. ******************************************* "It is as useless to argue with those who have renounced the use of reason as to administer medication to the dead." Thomas Jefferson