Hey gang,
I think the Bacula project is a good solution for those just need to get the
job done; nothin' flashy. Having said that, the manual needs to be split into
a technical manual and a HOWTO guide. The HOWTO guide would have plenty of
examples and even more references to the technical manual.
The single most helpful example for me (and perhaps others) _would_ have been a
walk through for setting up the .conf files to backup/verify/restore files from
multiple systems. Bar none! Without that, the learning curve is steep
especially for those with little time to implement a good solution.
For the record, I too am trying to figure out why a mounted & labeled tape in
the correct pool will not be recognized...but that's another thread.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
David Gardner
email: djgardner(at)yahoo.com
Yahoo! IM: djgardner
AIM: dgardner09
"Everything is a learning experience, even a mistake."
----- Original Message ----
From: Wes Hardaker <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Dan Langille <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: bacula-users <bacula-users@lists.sourceforge.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 8:02:57 AM
Subject: Re: [Bacula-users] All the problems with Bacula
>>>>> "DL" == Dan Langille <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>> Bacula is incredibly complex to setup. Its taken 4 months and its
>> still not working correctly.
DL> You are unique.
I doubt he's unique. I constantly think to myself "wow, bacula is
really cool; but why isn't it doing that?"
The configuration is complex to set up (but with flexibility always
comes complexity; and bacula is very flexible). Fortunately there are
many good resources to look at, but sorting through them all to find
what you want is sometimes difficult.
Personally, I've been using it for 2 months. On day one I got it up
and
running and backing up multiple computers (windows and linux both).
But, I've still had issues with it backing up files I didn't want it to
(no doubt my fault), failing to write DVDs properly (questionable
fault,
but I think I've fixed that through a patch to the dvd-handler),
failing
to recycle volumes that I believe it should (no doubt my fault). But
even after all that, the flexibility is very necessary for me and I'm
going to keep plugging away at it (just yesterday I had to re-learn
that
volume longevity for previously created volumes is in the DB, not
relearned from a modified config. Which makes sense, but when you're
editing the config it's easy to forget).
So, let me say: thanks to all the developers of bacula. I know what
it's like to run an OSS project and get yelled at (I've started a
number
at this point). Realize that the vast majority of your users are very
happy with your work (myself included). Kudos to you all for your time
and even more importantly: your patience in helping us through
problems. Outstanding support!
One thing that I did with one of my more successful projects was to
think of ways to reduce the confusion based on the questions sent to
the
mailing list. When I got a ton of questions in area X, I decided that
area X needed usability improvements. My thinking about it always
resulted in less questions about X in the future, which was a plus.
Something to consider (or ignore) at will...
Now, the down side is that the questions didn't stop. They just got
harder. If you remove the easier-to-understand problems users start
asking questions about the harder areas of a project because they get
farther ;-)
Final word: I love bacula and wouldn't switch away from it if I had a
choice. But I'm still on the learning curve, and it isn't small. But
very very worth it. Thanks again!
--
"In the bathtub of history the truth is harder to hold than the soap,
and much more difficult to find." -- Terry Pratchett
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