Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!verber From: verber@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu (Mark Verber) Newsgroups: comp.unix.admin Subject: Re: Whatcha Do During Backups? Message-ID: Date: 3 Jun 91 12:25:42 GMT References: Sender: news@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu Organization: Ohio State University; Physics Department Lines: 22 In-reply-to: brendan@cs.widener.edu's message of 3 Jun 91 12:07:09 GMT What do I do when backups are running? I sleep. Like most people these days I do backups onto a Exebyte tape drive which requires no operator intervention. cron starts a process around 3am that determines what needs to be backup on my network, and then blasts it to the tape server. Through careful planning I can still fit each nights save-sets onto a single tape. I should have a stacker before I grow beyond a single tape, so I will be able to continue to sleep through my backups. Full saves are done pretty much the same way except that the backup script reboots the machine, and /etc/rc has been changed to look for /do_backups, If this file exists it is exec early in the boot cycle (after I config my network, before anything that touches the diskis started). When I backup is finished, the back continues in the process of coming live again. Mark Verber / Ohio State Physics / Computing Services The most difficult issues in building large networks today are level 8 & 9 of the protocol stack: politics and religion. RMS: a religious evanglist who doesn't care if you are converted or not.