[Novalug] best hard disk setup for home file server?
Bryan J. Smith
b.j.smith@ieee.org
Tue Oct 20 18:17:03 EDT 2009
I won't argue semantics.
But my definition of "off-line" is a medium that:
1. Is extremely portable (how big is your system?)
2. Can survive long off-line periods (measured in years)
E.g., I use 2.5" disks as an up to three (3) year backup maximum, and
spindle them at least once a month. I use DVD-RAM and LTO for longer
periods. Sometimes I substitute DVD-R in for DVD-RAM, but only when
written in character mode (sg) with burn proof turned off (long, long story**).
I have only used DVD-R for five (5) years and cannot comment on overall
longevity. I have, however, used DVD-RAM for a dozen (12) years and
have yet to lose any media -- seemingly holding up the original, 30 year
"optical archving standard" claim on the pre-formatted (fixed sectoring)
with verify-after-write quite feasible.
I'm only four (4) years into 2.5" usage, with virtually all of my 80-320GB 2.5"
disks between eighteen and thirty-six (18-36) months old. Only my 500GB
2.5" disks only a year old (and my brand new 640GB 2.5" disks are only
a month).
I don't consider 3.5" viable for anything but near-line. 3.5" drives should
be spindled at least once per day for any longevity. Virtually all near-line
stores use such "disk aerobics" to guarantee maximum 3.5" drive longevity.
Or they should. Hence why your near-line server should be powered on
once per day for drive longevity.
-- Bryan
**NOTE: This mode is not compatible with Sony/Philips +RW drive firmware.
It is also not possible with +R media (which is physically like -RW/+RW, not
-R/-ROM).
----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Ertel <richard.ertel@gmail.com>
if i understand the terminology correctly, the system i plan to
implement is a combination of on-line and off-line. my backup
fileserver is only powered on when i plan to do a backup, at which
time i log in and run an rsync script. i plan to do this more
regularly now, but it's still occasional.
so... my on-line (mirroring) will cover new data, and the off-line
will cover data that is, let's say 2+ weeks old. corruption or
compromise of the main fileserver data won't affect the backup (unless
i don't notice the compromise/deletion and run the rsync anyway, that
would delete stuff off the backup, for example)
am i right?
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