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Re: [Amanda-users] Advice needed on Linux backup strategy to LTO-4 tape
2009-08-12 21:41:23
rorycl wrote:
An important aspect of the system is that the tapes should be readable
for 12 years, by other parties if necessary. From this point of view we
like the idea of providing a CD with each tape set of the software
needed to extract the contents, together with a listing of the enclosed
files in a UTF8 text file. We will be required to audit each backup set
by successfully extracting files from tape.
Just taking up that one point for the moment -- Amanda is not just open
source and open format, but the tape format is based on standard
UNIX/Linux tools. If you pull off the first file of the tape, it
actually tells you how to read the tape. You don't need Amanda or any
Amanda tools to read it. Just standard UNIX/Linux tools that come with
every distribution, such as dd, gnutar, and gzip.
That said, it is easier to read and recover using the Amanda tools,
because they will give you an index, allow you to specify what it is you
want to recover, tell you which tapes you need, and get it for you. But,
in the event that the tape lands in the hands of a UNIX/Linux admin who
has never heard of Amanda, but who needs to recover the data, it can be
done. And those tools are more likely to be available in stable or
compatible forms in 12 years. It just happens that 12 years is about the
lifecycle of a particular version of Solaris. That is, from the first
introduction of Solaris X to its final EOL and drop of all support is
about 12 years. I think Linux turns over faster than that, but the basic
tools are typically compatible between versions.
If you want, you can use amreport to generate a report on the contents
of a backup. Since you won't need a CD of software (and won't need to
worry about whether it will run, whether the right libraries will be
available, etc.), you might decide that a printout provided with each
tape might be easier. Sysadmin looks at printout and immediately sees
what's on the tape and, Oh, gee, it's that easy to read the tape. That
avoids the difficulty of a CD not being stable or readable. The tapes
are typically going to outlive a CD.
--
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Chris Hoogendyk
-
O__ ---- Systems Administrator
c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
(*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst
<hoogendyk AT bio.umass DOT edu>
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Erdös 4
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