thraxil.org:

anders pearson - Thu 10 Jun 2004 15:58:52

how much data do you need to backup? is it highly confidential data? what platform(s)? do the machines that need to be backed up have network connections? anything that involves removable media (CDRs, zip disks, tapes, etc.) is going to require manual intervention. ie, somebody has to remember to actually put in a blank disk and hit a button. in my experience, any backup system requiring manual intervention is doomed to fail. people just will not remember to do it on a regular basis. hard drives are also now significantly cheaper than other media on a per-MB basis. if the data isn't highly confidential, your best bet is probably to get an account on a server somewhere and set up a script that runs automatically and copies the data to the remote server. at work, we just took an old PC, put linux on it, installed a 180GB drive, and stuck it under a desk in our other office (which is in a different building than our main servers) and set up a nightly "cron":http://www.unixgeeks.org/security/newbie/unix/cron-1.html job that uses "rsync":http://networking.earthweb.com/netos/article.php/10951_1573881_1 to backup the primary servers to it.

TC - Thu 10 Jun 2004 22:25:44

When I worked with Hannaford, we used to auto burn dvd's of the security cameras. The company that put it together is in Penn, but I have a business card somewhere. Even if it's expensive, I bet they can give you some free advice on the best thing for you, though I agree with Anders. This system withheld many DVD's, and had a largd HD as a secondary backup, incase the crew forgot to pop in new DVD's at the end of the week. It would then beep and send winmessages to the desk comps, telling someone to change the discs before the HD got full. Let me know if you want the comp's name, because I can't seem to find the damn card anywhere, but I can always call the distribution center and ask for their info.