* Gene Heskett <gene.heskett AT verizon DOT net> [2004:07:10:17:45:42-0400] 
scribed:
> On Saturday 10 July 2004 11:46, Michael D Schleif wrote:
<snip />
> >With this current setup, nine (9) usable tapes, I wonder how best to
> >configure Amanda?  Yes, we can manually swap out magazines as
> > necessary; but, we prefer that this site run as automagically as
> > possible.  To wit, one magazine and nine tapes -- period.
> >
> >How do you setup similar environments?  What happens if a tape is,
> > of a sudden, bad when you need to restore?
> >
> >What do you think?
> 
> If it was me, I'd probably get another magazine, put 7 tapes and a 
> cleaner in each, and have cron send you a reminder email to change 
> the magazine before you do anything else monday mornings.  That would 
> take a dumpcycle=7, runspercycle=7, tapecycle=14.
> 
> Or goto dumpcycle=4,runspercycle=4,and tapecycle=9 and run it every 
> night and wear those tapes out in a hurry.  But I'm not you, and atm 
> don't even have amanda running, I've gotta see if I can make it use 
> dvd-+-rw's one of these days.  My last DDS2 changer's head died a 
> week or so back.

Yes, I know that this is the ideal solution.

However, this is an office with naive computer users, and a bunch of
servers.  Experience has taught me not to rely too heavily on
non-technical people to change tapes ;>  It is more important that we
get a good backup _every_ night, than to have somebody forget to change
the magazine, and go without backups for several days ;<

Somebody must have already dealt with this scenario, and have a time
worn solution.

What do you think?

-- 
Best Regards,

mds
mds resource
877.596.8237
-
Dare to fix things before they break . . .
-
Our capacity for understanding is inversely proportional to how much
we think we know.  The more I know, the more I know I don't know . . .
--

signature.asc
Description: Digital signature