Date: Sat, 1 Aug 1998 10:10:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Scott <scott@SchematiX.net> To: Nathan Dorfman <nathan@fcc.net> Cc: Andrew Bromage <bromage@queens.unimelb.edu.au>, freebsd-stable@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: CD writers as a backup medium Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.01.9808011006210.9686-100000@SchematiX.net> In-Reply-To: <19980801105021.B12513@fcc.net>
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On Sat, 1 Aug 1998, Nathan Dorfman wrote:
> On Sat, Aug 01, 1998 at 06:04:01PM +1000, Andrew Bromage wrote:
> > G'day all.
> >
> > Just wondered if anyone had thoughts on using a CD writer with
> > FreeBSD-stable as a backup medium. Does the lack of hard real-timeness
> > matter? Like, if some other process starts thrashing, will my CD be
> > ruined? Is the support for some writers better than others? Should I
> > just stick with tape?
>
> Yes, the lack of hard real-timeness matters. CD writers ideally
> want a constant stream of data. Depending on the size of the buffer
> in your drive, you can interrupt the stream for as much as a second
> or two. However, if some other process starts thrashing and the CDR
> drive's buffer *is* exhausted, there is nothing more to write and
> you're SOL, as that CD is now a coaster.
>
> This is why people make filesystems on their hard disk and then burn
> it to CD. However, if the system is mostly idle, and you have a fast
> disk, you shouldn't have too many problems backing up to CD. You may
> want to consider sticking to tape though. Tapes hold what, 4 gigs?
> CD-ROMS hold 650MB.
tapes may be 4GB, but most of them are extremely slow compared to a CD-R.
Even some of the fastest tape drives aren't as fast as a 4x CD-R (last
time i checked). Tape drives are also a lot more expensive and the tapes
are EXTREMELY expensive. CD-R disk can be found for $1 or less if you have
a rebate. Tapes for my TR1 drive (old; never in use anymore) are $30
each...and i have 5 tapes for them. So it really comes down to how much
money you have.
> > Cheers,
> > Andrew Bromage
>
> --
> Nathan Dorfman | E-mail: nathan@fcc.net
> Frontline Communications | Front desk: 914-623-8553:
>
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-scott
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