From owner-freebsd-isp Tue Dec 10 22:23:11 1996 Return-Path: Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) id WAA20348 for isp-outgoing; Tue, 10 Dec 1996 22:23:11 -0800 (PST) Received: from foo.primenet.com (ip196.sjc.primenet.com [206.165.96.196]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) with ESMTP id WAA20335 for ; Tue, 10 Dec 1996 22:23:03 -0800 (PST) Received: (from bkogawa@localhost) by foo.primenet.com (8.7.5/8.6.12) id WAA28001; Tue, 10 Dec 1996 22:28:45 -0800 (PST) Date: Tue, 10 Dec 1996 22:28:45 -0800 (PST) Message-Id: <199612110628.WAA28001@foo.primenet.com> To: vlad@dusk.net Subject: Re: Backup.. Newsgroups: localhost.freebsd.isp References: <199612090813.EAA00902@eternal.dusk.net> From: "Bryan K. Ogawa" Cc: freebsd-isp@FreeBSD.ORG X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 #1 (NOV) Sender: owner-isp@FreeBSD.ORG X-Loop: FreeBSD.org Precedence: bulk In localhost.freebsd.isp you write: >Hello =) >I am looking for recommendations as to what >to use for a backup. >I am leaning towars a jaz drive due to its >storage capacity, however am not absolutely >certain. >(I'm looking for a good, fairly fast type of > backup that is also priced decently). >Could someone enlighten me as to what the pro's >/ con's ( other than the obvious ones ) are, >and also perhaps make a recommendation. Here's my thinking on this subject. Please feel free to chime in... 1. There are a few basic factors you could be looking for in removable backup solutions: a. Drive Cost (how much will it cost initially?) b. Media Cost (how much will each backup c. Size (how big a backup can I make?) d. Reliability (will it keep?) e. Other 2. In most cases, performance (speed of backups) is less important. If I can find something big enough and smart enough to use only one backup medium per day, I can do my backups at night, from cron. Speed only matters if someone has to watch the backups being done, or is waiting to use them, or if a machine must be offline while the backup is being done. Therefore, it's more of a factor if I'm using this to transport files from one place to another or if my drives are much larger than the devices. 3. You can use a second fixed disk to mirror your first one. This doesn't let you do off-site storage of your data, though. I'd disqualify this unless you have some good reason. 4. I'd also disqualify a bunch of small (40-80-120mb) QIC solutions, because they're small, and because they're not well supported under FreeBSD from all I understand. In fact, I'd probably say "SCSI only" and be done with it. As far as size, I'd say a hundred megabytes, at least, preferably much more. 5. The things that I can think of that fit into these categories: Note -- all prices in US dollars. Legend: + clearly positive point = may be positive or negative - negative point ? something to think about or which I don't know the answer to a. DAT drive + Extremely cheap media -- it costs about $4 - $5 per gigabyte + good support from FreeBSD + Very widely used format -- interoperability with other tape drives + Good storage size -- between 2 and 4 gigabytes uncompressed = Drive moderately priced -- $600 (potentially much less) - some DAT drives are flaky -- incompatible writes and read errors - slow, linear access medium ? reliability of medium is unknown (I think it's good, but not great) ? drives variable in speed b. Exabyte 8-mm drive + widely used format -- decent interopoerability + good support from FreeBSD + medium and hardware supposedly more reliable than DAT + extremely cheap media -- $3 - $8 per gigabyte + good storage size -- between 2 and 5 gigabytes uncompressed = still magnetic medium - drive more expensive than DAT -- $1400 for drive - slow, linear access medium c. Travan TR-4 drive / QIC wide + cheap drives -- about $400 + very rugged medium / hardware -- supposedly very reliable + good storage size -- 2 to 4 gigabytes uncompressed = moderately priced medium -- $10 - $20 per gigabyte (most expensive tape) ? presumably FreeBSD support good? - slow, linear access medium d. Jaz drive + Extremely fast medium random access medium -- speed comprable to fixed disks + cheap drive -- about $400 - $500 (including one cartridge) + good storage size -- 1 gigabyte uncompressed + Somewhat common drive makes transferring files easy - Very expensive medium -- $99 per gigabyte ? FreeBSD supports this as a disk drive, not a tape drive ? This medium is may be more fragile than tape ? e. Zip drive (SCSI, not parallel) + Extremely cheap drive -- about $100 + Very common drive makes transferring files easy = slow, random access medium -- speed much slower than fixed disk, but random access and much faster than tape - Very expensive medium -- $100-$200 per gigabyte - very small data size -- .1 gigabytes uncompressed ? FreeBSD supports this as a disk drive, not a tape drive ? This medium is may be more fragile than tape ? f. CD-R(ecordable) writer + Medium almost universally readable -- produces CD-ROMs + possibly better durability -- non-magnetic medium = Moderately priced drive -- $400 - $600 = Moderately priced medium -- $25 per gigabyte = Moderately sized medium size -- .6 - .7 gigabytes uncompressed - Medium can ONLY be written once, increasing medium costs - proper writing can be very tricky and is (relatively) very hardware-intensive g. PD drive (rewritable optical cartridges) + Medium is very reliable -- non-magnetic + rewritable medium ? moderately expensive priced drive? (I think they're about $800-$1000?) + moderate to good sized medium -- .6 to 1.3 gigabytes uncompressed - moderately expensive medium -- $80 per gigabyte ? unknown FreeBSD support - fairly esoteric medium I ended up choosing a DAT drive, because of all the positives, and because I was able to minimize a number of the negatives (I got mine for under $400 with a 6 year warranty, reducing the price and reliability questions, and I don't care about speed). Personally, I think that the Jaz drive doesn't make a good backup solution because of the high media prices (I picked up 3 DAT tapes so that I can do Grandfather/Father/Son backups, which is easy if the tapes cost $9 apiece). You're paying for a lot of performance (like a hard drive), which is IMO a waste if you're not using it 99% of the time. However, as a second fixed disk for extra files, it may be a great solution (keep it mounted with extra OSes or extra FreeBSD partitions). That's what I think. Some questions while I was making this: 1. Are PD or other Optical drives supported under FreeBSD? 2. How reliable is DAT, PRESUMING that you get a proper write the first time, esp. compared to 8mm? 3. Travan medium is supposed to have good reliability, right? 4. How reliable are CD-R? I've heard that they're much easier to scratch. I hope that helps. bryan >Thanks in advance, >Christian >-- >Christian Hochhold | Dusk.net Internet Services -- bryan k ogawa http://www.primenet.com/~bkogawa/