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mmurray · Jan 18, 2003, 03:39 AM

We have about 20 macs - soon they will be all running OS X. They are in a university network environment with some large UNIX server about. The UNIX servers are backed up regularly to tape drives. Is there an easy way to fit the macs into that backup system ? I am looking for a solution that would fit into the UNIX environment and not create a lot of extra work for the existing UNIX administrator.

Thanks - Michael

OreoCookie · Jan 18, 2003, 12:13 PM

Set up a cron job that regularly tars the relevant directories. That's what we do (there is a backup service from our computer support department).

Are the home directories on a server or on the computers itself?

If you give a little more details on the configuration, we could help you a little better.

mmurray · Jan 18, 2003, 07:21 PM

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
Set up a cron job that regularly tars the relevant directories. That's what we do (there is a backup service from our computer support department).

Are the home directories on a server or on the computers itself?

If you give a little more details on the configuration, we could help you a little better.

Thanks OreoCookie,

The home directories are on the desktop machines themselves. They are running as self-contained machines plugged into ethernet.

I assume this is a cron job on the desktop machines ? How do you handle getting the
tarred directories off onto tape ?

Michael

int69h · Jan 18, 2003, 07:46 PM

Off the top of my head:

A) Export the /Users folder with Samba and use smbtar to dump to tape.

B) Devise some ingenious solution utilizing netcat.

mmurray · Jan 18, 2003, 07:57 PM

Originally posted by int69h:
Off the top of my head:

A) Export the /Users folder with Samba and use smbtar to dump to tape.

B) Devise some ingenious solution utilizing netcat.

Thanks int69h.

For anyone else reading this thread looking for ideas there is also some stuff here

http://www.bombich.com

on using rsync which looks interesting.

Michael

Arkham_c · Jan 18, 2003, 10:42 PM

Another option is to let the machines back themselves up. Let them tar up the files and scp or ftp them over to the server with the tape backup.

mmurray · Jan 18, 2003, 10:52 PM

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
Another option is to let the machines back themselves up. Let them tar up the files and scp or ftp them over to the server with the tape backup.

Ah that would be good. Better I have access to someone elses machine than they have access to mine :-)

Michael

int69h · Jan 19, 2003, 12:19 AM

Another option is to let the machines back themselves up. Let them tar up the files and scp or ftp them over to the server with the tape backup.

This still doesn't get the data onto the tape drive, and assuming you have X bytes to backup, requires that the both the macs and the server have X bytes of storage free.

The rsync idea is a little better, but the server is required to have X bytes free and still doesn't get the data onto the tape.

Example 3 of this article describes exactly what you need using tar, ssh, and netcat.

OreoCookie · Jan 19, 2003, 09:23 AM

I wouldn't use Samba in a Unix environment, I'd go for NFS.

Do you have a backup strategy for the server?
Is there enough space on it to tar 20 Macs periodically?

However, I would not advise you to set up the cron job on the clients, but rather on the server. Easier to administer, etc.

How about setting up MacOS X Server and sharing all the home directories? Then you only have to think about the server. BTW, that doesn't mean that you can't use the built-in HDs of your Mac (we have a Mac for video editing ...).

mmurray · Jan 19, 2003, 09:50 AM

Originally posted by OreoCookie:
I wouldn't use Samba in a Unix environment, I'd go for NFS.

Do you have a backup strategy for the server?
Is there enough space on it to tar 20 Macs periodically?

However, I would not advise you to set up the cron job on the clients, but rather on the server. Easier to administer, etc.

How about setting up MacOS X Server and sharing all the home directories? Then you only have to think about the server. BTW, that doesn't mean that you can't use the built-in HDs of your Mac (we have a Mac for video editing ...).

I am not the admin guy so I don't know the details but the server is regularly backed up onto tape and I think there is a fireproof safe, tapes kept off site etc.

I will have to check with him to find out what the space situation is. If the solution is that we buy a new HD to add to all the others we have that could be done.

So I guess that would mean the simple solution would be a cron job on the server that tars the
home directories of all the macs up onto the server and then they go off onto tape as part of the servers regular back up set up.

Presumably for this the server needs ssh access ?

We tried early versions of netbooting but got into all kinds of mess and gave up (I can't recall the details but a mass of `little' things got to the point it wasn't worth it). It might be worth trying this again.

Thanks for all the input - Michael

OreoCookie · Jan 19, 2003, 02:48 PM

Originally posted by mmurray:
I am not the admin guy so I don't know the details but the server is regularly backed up onto tape and I think there is a fireproof safe, tapes kept off site etc.

I will have to check with him to find out what the space situation is. If the solution is that we buy a new HD to add to all the others we have that could be done.

So I guess that would mean the simple solution would be a cron job on the server that tars the
home directories of all the macs up onto the server and then they go off onto tape as part of the servers regular back up set up.

Presumably for this the server needs ssh access ?

We tried early versions of netbooting but got into all kinds of mess and gave up (I can't recall the details but a mass of `little' things got to the point it wasn't worth it). It might be worth trying this again.

Thanks for all the input - Michael

Well, we don't use Netboot anymore, too, but we still have all home directories on one server (with a raid). You could write a script that mounts the home directory, tars it, unmounts it again. And you set up a cron job for that script.

yuriwho · Jan 20, 2003, 04:43 AM

I use RsyncX

http://www.macosxlabs.org/rsyncx/rsyncx.html

to do automatic backups that preserve resource forks. Once you set it up via cron, it's beautiful, see

http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~ccun...sx-backup.html

for instructions to set up root access and backups via cron. You'll probably want to add a large hard drive to the server and then back the server up to tape. This makes a nice open source solution. Although I'm sure there are more efficient commercial solutions available, the cost of hard drive space is pretty cheap.....software can get expensive fast.

Y