[PLUG] Backups - was: Damned Small USB or better?

[Keith Lofstrom]

On Fri, May 29, 2009 at 07:20:02AM -0700, Quentin Hartman wrote:
> Also, the suggestion to look at G4U and whatnot won't really buy you
> anything. They have a snappy name, but really just use dd (or sometimes dd
> and netcat) under the covers. For what it sounds like you're trying to
> accomplish, a purpose-written script and dd sound like the way to go. I'm
> curious though, why not just do this once to get your system clone, and then
> backup whatever data she's created more selectively? That would surely save
> quite a lot of time.

Good question.  Since I manage an open source backup /and restore/
project, I spend a lot of time thinking about restore.   When an
identifiable data file goes away, then a file-based restore system
is a good way to go.  But how often can an unsophisticated user
identify that the problem is in fact a missing data file, go to
a backup, and go through a correct file restore procedure and
get running again?

Sadly, most backup procedures are designed for efficient data
transfer, and rarely have a decent design for the restore process. 
Backups are scheduled, but restores are almost always unplanned
crises, and most restore attempts compound the problems rather
than fix them.  A proper design starts with a well managed
restore, and works backwards to the backup procedures that
support this.  Few backup tools get this right,

Most users, and that includes my wife, typically only notice that
"something isn't working".   Then it becomes my problem, to fix a
machine that I don't monitor daily and sometimes gets "creative"
modifications made to it, either by my wife trying a "shortcut",
or more often by insane system software.  Or worse, I am 3000
miles away and trying to guide her through a restore over the
phone.  Add damaged hearing to that, and a "helper" at the far
end who gets "creative" when given step by step instructions.
("No. NO. STOP! DON'T DO THAT!!!!")

Now compound that with a copy-resistant operating system like
Windoze, where the companies making the OS and the apps are much
more interested in "protecting their intellectual property" and
"first sale" eye candy than in helping users or system maintainers.
My wife does most of her work (email, surfing, even reading and
writing M$ documents) on Linux, where the machine gets nightly
backups and automated updates and system checks.  Windoze actively
prevents most such maintenance, because it might be used for purposes
they don't like.  But sadly, the only usable speech recognition app
for her needs, Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Medical,  runs only on
Windoze, with all the enormous freight of problems that implies.
Not the least of which is that these clowns design for first sale,
not usability, and my wife is used to more rational software.
When a good Linux speech recognition app arrives (please O lord!)
we will ditch this windoze crap pronto.

Given all that, the easiest way to do a restore is to pop in a 
duplicate of the hard drive, and go from there.  No OS reinstall,
no activation, no mother-may-I from M$.  The source and target
hard drives are both in quick-swap cages;  I can make the exchange
(or she can with careful instruction) in seconds.   Yes, it takes
a lot longer to make the backups that way, but backups happen at
shutdown, deliberately, and the copy is made overnight.  This will
be faster if I restrict Windows to a small partition on the first
part of the disk, and dd only that - there won't be a lot of user
data on these drives.

And yes, M$ copy protection may interfere with all this.  We
will see.  Of course, I will mock up the procedure manually,
with a live CD.  But the goal is an easy-to-understand backup
procedure that my wife can master, so I am learning about tools
for that while I adapt to M$'s paranoia.

Sorry for the long description, but you asked about reasoning and
you got it, or at least my vague approximation of reasoning.

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com         Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
Design Contracting in Bipolar and CMOS - Analog, Digital, and Scan ICs