IP backup solutions?

[Brian]

On Sat, 2003-09-13 at 20:14, bscott at ntisys.com wrote:
> On 13 Sep 2003, at 9:09am, lists at karas.net wrote:
> > ... optimized for sending lots of data (many gigs) over a slow pipe (T1 in
> > this case) ...
> 
>   I suspect that is not reasonably possible.

Actually, it *is*, but not in a very desirable manner.  It seems that
most of the IP/remote backup solutions use a lot of proprietary
compression, and schemes to back up, literally, only the bits (not
files) that have changed in some cases.  Companies readily admit that
for large volume restores, it is faster to burn and Fedex a CD than go
over the wire.  Once the initial backup is done on a machine, backing up
the delta for a given day isn't so bad, though.

>   This assumes you can saturate the link full-time for the backup.  That
> means you're not using it for Internet access at the same time.  This also
> assumes you can sustain 187 Kbyte/sec over the public Internet.  While I
> won't say that's impossible, I find it highly unlikely.
> 

Yes, the pipe would be dedicated to backup during this time, but I agree
that you can't sustain a full T over the Internet...

>   I personally find the whole situation contains far too many unknowns.  I
> generally require backups to be dependable.  Taking chances just isn't worth
> it.

Yes, it does, but when you get customers and sales people involved
without enough tech consultation...

> 
>   Recommendations:
> 
>   Obtain a decent tape drive (for small offices, DDS4 is very
> cost-effective).
<snip>

Excellent suggestion, and probably the "ideal" solution, but not
feasible for this project.