Hi Chris, Thanks for your reply.
On Thursday 12 July 2007 01:48:55 pm Chris Hoogendyk wrote: > Rich wrote: > > On 2007.07.12. 14:16, Frank Sweetser wrote: > >> Ivan Adzhubey wrote: > >>> Hi, > >>> > >>> I have been using bacula for 5 years now and finally comes the first > >>> time I need to do a major restore from our tapes. I read the tutorial, > >>> tried the instructions and it seemingly worked as designed (I haven't > >>> run actual restore yet) but I am not sure which exactly files it was > >>> going to restore. I have two pools of tapes: one for full backups (run > >>> monthly) and another one for incremental (run every night). The > >>> 'restore all' command, when instructed to find JobIds of the most > >>> recent backup for a client, correctly located and listed all relevant > >>> full backups plus all incremental ones. It then proceeded creating > >>> directory tree and in the process went through both latest full backup > >>> and all incrementals since. So I assume this tree contains the latest > >>> snapshot? Or should I actually run two restores to get all the latest > >>> files: one for last full set and another one for all incrementals? I > >>> guess this is a stupid question but I'd really appreciate if someone > >>> could enlighten me since going through 50,000+ files manually to check > >>> the versions restored is really not an option. > >> > >> Bacula will handle making sure that only the latest version of each file > >> is restored, so you only have to do it once. > > > > it probably is a good time to remind that files deleted/moved at some > > point inbetween backups also will be restored. > > Probably also a good time to exclaim, "5 years of backups and you're > just now familiarizing yourself with restore?!" Well, I've restored a few individual files now and then and also did a few test restores as suggested in the user guide so I am quite familiar with the routine and it always worked just fine for me. But restoring 50 something thousand files is definitely something different. I also never tried to emulate a real world file usage with my test backups/restores, hence my question. You are right of course, this should have been done long ago. > It cannot be said enough times, you don't have a backup system until you > have restored data from it. Becoming familiar with restore and doing > some trial restores should be part of getting any backup system set up. > It should also be a periodic routine to check your backup system and > confirm that you can still restore. You want to confirm that your system > works, but you also want the first hand personal experience so that you > are comfortable and confident when the time comes that you really need > to do it. > > Not to be hard on anyone individually -- just tossing this out for > anyone and everyone to emphasize the importance of it. > > So, anyone out there who is doing regular backups and hasn't done a > restore, set aside some time and do a test restore. Not to undermine your perfectly valid advice but let me note that we are living in a non perfect world, so even if you invest tremendous amounts of time and effort into testing your setup, you could never be sure you've tested all factors that may affect it in every possible real life situation. So even if all of your test restores work seamlessly this does not 100% mean your really critical one will. As usual, this is a question of reasonable compromise... Thanks also for everyone who replied to my personal address, your help was most appreciated! Cheers, Ivan P.S. My restore is at 40GB and counting, we'll see soon... The information transmitted in this electronic communication is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of or taking of any action in reliance upon this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this information in error, please contact the Compliance HelpLine at 800-856-1983 and properly dispose of this information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ _______________________________________________ Bacula-users mailing list Bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bacula-users
