Re: OT: Backup Software Recommendations?

I don't have much to offer except you don't want to backup files that are in use. That's just asking for trouble, particularly on NTFS. Much better to have the workers leave their PCs on overnight so that you can take a pristine snapshot. (Hibernate doesn't take that much power and a proper backup solution will wake and rehibernate the computer.)

My criteria for good software:

Does it work?
Can someone else come in, make a change, and be reasonably certain no bugs were introduced?

Comment on Re: OT: Backup Software Recommendations?

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Re^2: OT: Backup Software Recommendations? by EvanK (Chaplain) on Feb 01, 2007 at 03:24 UTC
Normally I'd agree, but some of the apps we use (3rd party stuff) keep a file open and locked even when its read-only. And if a user forgets to close out of the application before they go home, we're up a certain creek... That's why I think the better solution is something that monitors disk writes and backs up changes at a bit-level. I do appreciate the input :) __________ The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it. - Terry Pratchett	[reply]
Re^3: OT: Backup Software Recommendations? by diotalevi (Canon) on Feb 01, 2007 at 06:02 UTC
If you're backing up files that are in use, you'll want backup software that knows how to work with the application that's using it. Fer instance, lots of server-side applications keep stuff open all the time so server-capable backup software can communicate to the running processes to negotiate a safe backup. ⠤⠤ ⠙⠊⠕⠞⠁⠇⠑⠧⠊	[reply]
Re^4: OT: Backup Software Recommendations? by telcontar (Beadle) on Feb 01, 2007 at 22:41 UTC
If you're on windows, you should check out "Volume Shadow Copy Service": They allow the creation of consistent backups of a volume, ensuring that the contents cannot change while the backup is being made, avoiding problems with file locking; because the backup software is using a read-only copy of the volume, it is able to access every file without interfering with other programs writing to those same files. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Previous_Versions Note that this is used in MS's own backup utility, which many consider crap, but some people tell me the command-line version is actually good for something. Just thought I'd offer this bit of information, which many people don't seem to know. Other than that I was also going to suggest Bacula, like another poster farther down already has. Johannes	[reply]