--On Wednesday, September 08, 2004 16:15:06 -0600 Justin Gombos <mindfuq AT 
zianet DOT com> wrote:

> * Christoph Scheeder <christoph.scheeder AT scheeder DOT de> [2004-06-24 
> 18:03]:
>> Hi,
>> i'm using a dvd+-rw device for archiving my vdr-recordings.
>> you don't need to by cdrecord-DVDpro, there is a tool called
>> growisofs out there.
>> It handles dvd+ and dvd- correct, it is free, and AFAIK
>> it handles the various versions of buffer-underrunprotection
>> automagically.
> 
> Since DVD burners are so cheap now, and still dropping, I would love
> to build a DVD array for backups.  Having four or five dvd burners
> (possibly mixed with CD burners) in a tower doing unattended backups
> would be ideal.  Is this feasible using amanda and other current tools
> (like growisofs), or does this capability still need to be developed?
> 
> I asked the same question a while ago for CDRs, and if I remember
> correctly, the answer was no.  At the time, Amanda was really designed
> for tapes, and little headway was made with optical media.  It seemed
> that using optical media was unorthodox, and required some improvising
> (though doable); and arrays were out of the question.
> 
> So I'd like to get an idea for the demand of this sort of capability,
> and whether any Amanda developers are even considering support for
> optical arrays.

At one time I thought DVDs would be a good backup media, but I have
since changed my mind.  The main reason is capacity (or lack of it).
Unless you are backing up small amounts of data, it would take stacks
of DVDs to perform your backups.  Perhaps now that dual-layer burners
and the new Blu-ray format are emerging the pain threshold is rising,
but currently I cant see using 25 DVDs instead of a single 100 GB tape
(and those aren't even the largest tapes commonly available).

If your needs can be handled by a few DVDs, the easiest way to implement
it might be to use Amanda's file driver and then burn that to DVD.

Frank


-- 
Frank Smith                                      fsmith AT hoovers DOT com
Sr. Systems Administrator                       Voice: 512-374-4673
Hoover's Online                                   Fax: 512-374-4501