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Hello everyone.
I have been reading a lot about Bacula, I have read sections of the manual several times just to get a good idea of what I am about to propose. I am new to Bacula but I do have a test system up and running in my lab right now.
I have a client that has once again outgrown their current DAT tape drive. It seems the perpetual problem, or as I have herd it called several times Moore’s Law … that is the more storage you provide the more you have to back up.
Here is the current environment:
1. Linux server running Redhat 8.0 which acts as the file server, Its current maximum storage is 80 GB on a RAID 5. It was recently decommissioned as the mail server. It still servers as the clients main and only file server. It will be upgraded with in the next couple of months to CentOS to bring its operating system current and to repartition the disk to remove the old mail stores.
2. Linux Server running Fedora Core 4. This runs the new mail server called Scalix. It has been in service for about 2 months now, with very little problem to report.
3. Novell 3.12 file server running a VERY OLD and archaic custom DOS accounting application.
4. Sony SDT10000/11000 mounted in the file server.
Currently the estimated amount of data I would need to backup is 30G of File Data 20G of Mail data (on the Scalix Server) 10G of Home Data
So I have a minimum of 60GB of data to be backed up during a full backup.
I don’t want to buy a new backup tape drive, they just bought this a little over a year ago, and at the time I bought this one, It should have lasted them for quite a while. Well the office grew a bit and what do you know, the backups now exceed one tape.
What I want to accomplish is to build a reliable backup system that will backup the data to the hard disk first, then to tape. I want to use the existing Tape hardware, but purchase a backup hard drive used to store Bacula’s disk volumes. During backup to tape I would like the system to prompt for new tapes as they get filled during normal working hours.
The Old accounting application is currently backed up on a weekly basis to a Laptop by the accountant. I have setup scripts that are linked to a button on the desktop. The accountant simply double clicks on the button, and the backup begins. Basically the script copys all the files from the Novell server to the Laptop, the resulting copy, is then used as a read only copy for when the accountant is telecommuting.
I have compiled and setup a test Bacula Server and its running flawlessly on CentOS-4.
Known facts:
Migration is a feature that the staff is working on. This is a feature that would ultimately solve my problem, but it’s not available right now.
I have the capability to backup to disk volumes.
I have the capability to backup the disk volumes to tape.
Backup Plan:
In order to accomplish my goal, my thought would be to setup as many disk volumes as there were tape volumes and create separate pools for each.
Stage One: In the middle of the night Bacula would suck the data from the File server and Mail server, and store them in the disk volumes.
Stage Two: In the morning Bacula would then backup the previous night’s disk volumes to tape. As each physical tape was filled, the staff could eject the filled tape and insert a blank tape and continue that process until stage two was complete. After the backup was complete, the owner of the company could take the resulting tapes off site for better data security.
Schedules and types of backup:
Every Friday evening, I will perform a FULL backup of the system. This will be backed up to disk volumes. Every Monday Morning Perform a backup of the disk volumes created on Friday, Taking an estimated 4 tapes. Every Monday through Thursday Evening performing an incremental backup of any changed data to Disk Volumes Every Friday Morning Backing up the finished Incremental Disk Volumes to tape, Taking an estimated 2 tapes.
All 6 tapes will be taken off site for safe storage.
This process will be repeated on week 2. At the end of week two, “if you can get the owner to remember”, the old tapes are brought on site and week two is sent off site. The tapes will be rotated 6 tapes on site and 6 tapes off site.
Restores should always occur from the server, not from the tape drive.
If I need to restore from tape drive, it’s because the backup server has crashed, and it needs to be rebuilt.
Questions: Any comments on the above backup plan would be greatly appreciated. I know that all of this is contingent on the owner remembering to bring back the old tapes. I am fairly confident I can “Train” the owner to do this. I have been their system administrator since 1998 and I have all the confidence in the world that I can get him to do this. The other part is training Staff to change tapes promptly. I also am confident I can train the staff to push a button to eject the tape and insert the proper one. Can I make this plan better or easier to manage?
Can I have Bacula e-mail staff when it needs a tape change? The particular staff member I have in mind is busy on other projects, but does regularly check e-mail.
What happens when the Backup Server crashes? Could I get the backup server up and running to the state it was before it crashed, or some where close to it?. My concern is if there was a natural disaster like an Earthquake or Fire. If the file servers were damaged in such an event and needed to be replaced, could I get the company back on its feet fairly quickly using the backup procedures I have outlined in this posting.
How big should I make each disk volume if I am backing up each disk volume to a Sony SDT10000/11000 (it’s a 20/40 DDS4 DAT backup)
What about file systems. Some file systems will only allow 17GB files, (found this problem in the list). What file system would best suite large files, and would allow file sizes larger than 17GB?
Thank you very much for all your help.
Sincerely,
Harold Robinson -- -- |
- [Bacula-users] Backup to Hard disk Volumes, Backup to Tape... Harold Robinson
