Seans use of his Jaz for imaged KOT is an interesting alternative. I can understand your concern about using a peripheral drive. Although, if one used the cd-r/w, as you suggest, you could really make that baby pay for itself i.e. KOT, backup, archival, musical copies. And for someone like me who only uses cd-rom for software install the cd-r/w would probably suffice for that too. Don't sha think?
It would not be my first choice. It is very slow. If you tried a complete backup of 4.5GB +/- you would have to span several discs. It would take hours and you would have to attend the backup. CDR musical CD's work on most computers and home stereos but are hit and miss on car stereos.
It is also not well suited to the most important type of backup IMO..selected file backup. These are your financial records etc. On a daily basis or whenever they change important files that are kept in a specific directory or group of directories should be backed up. The easiest way to do this is in Explorer or other file management utility (I still like Xtree Gold 3.0 for DOS, I use it in DOS, Win95 and NT <g>). CD RW is not suited to this type of simple backup. You need specialized software to drive the CD R and CD RW devices. Sean has had good success with CDR and Adaptec CDR software but many others are not so lucky.
I would use JAZ or the Syquest drive...Sparq?..or tape. I share your dislike for tape...linear and slow. BUT I do not like any of the other removable backup solutions either. They all violate one of my backup strategy preferences except tape...the backup media should be as big as what you are backing up. Spanning discs is one of my least favorite things. Other preferences include easy single file restore and ease of restoration.
The linear nature of tape is not a disadvantage with tape during a complete restoration. Complete restorations are linear by nature. The time it takes to backup is also not significant if one sets up an automated routine.
I believe tape and tape backup software has come a long way. It may offer individual directory backup as well as complete backup? I am considering tape as a "hands off all in one" backup solution. Cost is very reasonable.
Given tape as a complete removable backup solution one is free to augment it with some more user friendly options.
In all likelihood the augmented options would be used more frequently than the tape backups for restorations. CD RW still comes low on this list IMHO. It does not satisfy the easy to use and reliability criteria. For this option my preference is a harddrive solution.
AT least two harddrive solutions have been discussed. (1) Partition the Primary drive and us Drive Image to make copies of the Primary or other partitions and (2) A second harddrive configured as a KOT drive. Either one or a combination could be used. For example you could have two matched 8.4GB IDE drives. The first setup with a partition with backups a la Dave Hanson. The KOT would be a clone (mirror)of the first drive. I would start with option (1) and add option (2). It depends on your backup priorities and how fast you want to restore.
I view most of my machines as operations machines. This is true of work and home machines. I manage about 16 computers at work. They all have multiple users. Record files are all funneled to one machine where they are backed up several times on several types of removable media. All of the other machines are operational in nature. By this I mean there are no record files kept on the machine. The machines are used to do something ie make maps, graphics, charts, process data, communicate etc.
The configuration / software load does not change on a daily basis. All record files are dealt with and removed as they are created.
When the machines crash for whatever reason ( usually someone playing around) I do not have time to try and figure out what went wrong. Managing computers is low on my priority list. Sometimes they get left crippled for weeks. It does not put us out of business as we use backup computer stations (in most cases). A KOT drive would be the best solution for my operational machines as I would have them up and running again in five minutes with the least amount of effort on my part.
I view a Trading Machine as an operations machine. If I were trading for a living I would want continuous access to my account during trading hours. The best solution would be a second machine..online or near on line and ready to go. The next best solution IMO would be a KOT drive tested and ready to go.
I had a bad experience with Drive Image. I had a false sense of security. I had three Image files, all at progressive stages of software load. My harddrive had been acting up and I was careful to have the images on removable media. The harddrive failed and NONE of the images would restore. I believe the reason was the bad harddrive. I had the test modes on when I created the image files and was given no warning of bad sectors or? Specifically I do not know what it was but I presume I copied something from the failing drive.
The point is I never tested the Drive Image backups. Nor do I know how to test a Drive Image backup except by overwriting a working partition. To me that does not make sense. Why would I want to overwrite a working primary partition to test something? I have the same fear of tape restoration or any other type of restoration. I have no desire to test backups on a working machine.
My own priority is a TESTED working machine. That includes a second working computer and/or a KOT configuration on a single machine.
I am rambling on so I'll try and pull this post together..
IMHO Start with two harddrives and a tape drive. The relative size of the two harddrives is debatable. I would compromise on the size of the KOT as 20 + GB drives do not make sense from a cost point of view. Two 6.4+ IDE drives will not set you back a lot of $. Partition the first drive a la Dave, clone it to the KOT a la ZP, and backup to tape a la Sean. You will be able to test the tape and Drive Image restorations with KOT to bail you out as needed. You would use all four IDE channels ( two harddrives, tape and a standard CD) and add a SCSI host adapter later when you add CD RW.
Just a thought
Zeuspaul |
