Backup options

[hostpc.com]

As servers get larger in CPU/RAM and bandwidth, and we're able to put more customers per server - even for the smaller servers - it'd be nice to have some options for additional backups. Here's what I'm thinking.

50% of server is backed up Monday. The remaining 50% is backed up Tuesday. Ideally, set by a cron, but there's an issue.

If the server is having new customers added to it (customer D), and the first 1/2 of the backup includes user A-M - customer D, added AFTER the backup is set (currently) - customer D won't get backed up if he was added after the existing cron was set.

I'm thinking of an option in the admin backup/transfer screens that allow ALL customers - A-M - or select 50% for one cron, would be a nice feature.

Yes, before you jump on me, backups ARE done nightly - thank you RSYNC - and stored off server. This would be an extra backup option - including the ncftput feature that could, I imagine, be easily implemented.

Thoughts?

 

[scsi]

If backups were differential they wouldnt take as long as a full backup. I think thats where backups need to change to.

 

[nobaloney]

There are two ways of doing differential backup:

1) keep only one copy on the backup server, restoring differential backups to only one dataset.

2) keep all backups in separate files on the backup server.

If the former you'll have a problem on Tuesday, say, if one of your clients needs a file from last Sunday.

If the latter you'll take hours to restore a server or account, because you'll need to restore all backups, in order.

Jeff

 

[scsi]

Yeah but you could do daily differential and weekly full backups. I do it with rsync all the time. Keep your full backups in one folder and the diff ones in another.

 

[nobaloney]

Your full description is much better, but I'd bet still beyond the scope of most of the DirectAdmin owners on our forum.

While this might double backup space required for many DirectAdmin system Administrators, it's a good idea.

Do you copy everything that needs to be restored in case of a system disaster? Do you use sysbk as your model (the defaults haven't been updated in some time and it may no longer copy everything you need)?

Would you like to take on the task of:

a) Writing a white paper

b) Writing a complete How-To

If you feel you don't have the time, then don't feel bad; neither do I .

Yes, a great idea. Anytime have time to help us all implement it?

Jeff

 

[empowering]

As servers get larger in CPU/RAM and bandwidth, and we're able to put more customers per server - even for the smaller servers - it'd be nice to have some options for additional backups. Here's what I'm thinking.

50% of server is backed up Monday. The remaining 50% is backed up Tuesday. Ideally, set by a cron, but there's an issue.

If the server is having new customers added to it (customer D), and the first 1/2 of the backup includes user A-M - customer D, added AFTER the backup is set (currently) - customer D won't get backed up if he was added after the existing cron was set.

I'm thinking of an option in the admin backup/transfer screens that allow ALL customers - A-M - or select 50% for one cron, would be a nice feature.

Yes, before you jump on me, backups ARE done nightly - thank you RSYNC - and stored off server. This would be an extra backup option - including the ncftput feature that could, I imagine, be easily implemented.

Thoughts?

Hey Joe,

Why not create VPSes on these bigger servers? That way there is some advantage of putting too many customers on one server. Sure the DA lic and management might but slightly more costly but in the end makes things like backups easier to manage.

the option we do is NOT use DA's backup at all. IMHO things like bacula are much better suited to perform full backups and incremental backups.

 

[hostpc.com]

I considered the vps approach - just not ready to implement it yet - but definitely under consideration.

I actually do several different backups - I do a nightly DA backup, simply for the convenience of having users restored and immediately working at a few clicks of a mouse - especially for techs that need to handle situations that might not have access to higher level commands. I also do rsync backups to another server cluster hourly that pull site, mysql and email data - in case of emergency, on an incremental basis. The third backup is a full sys backup to another datacenter - in case of total system failure in our core datacenters.

Willing to work on it? Sure. My main point of the post here was to see if anyone had already invented the wheel - or if it was something easily implemented by DA. Time is another story tho - I'm looking for something that's productive sooner rather than later, but I'm willing to work WITH anyone who's already had this idea and might be already 'in progress'.

 

[empowering]

It still sounds like Bacula is your solution. It's a Client/server model, can write to disk, and can create all sorts of flexible backups schedules. Why does DA have to do backups at all? I still have the position that DA is a control panel, not a Swiss Army knife.

bacula DOES have a web gui, we don't use it, BUT their command line options make it VERY easy to restore files. Pretty easy to train a tech to use.

We have all of this in place and managed by Puppet. If you want to discuss this in detail PM me.

 

[nobaloney]

I considered the vps approach - just not ready to implement it yet - but definitely under consideration.

Joe, I have a friend in the hosting business from the old days when many of us used TRS-80s^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h Cobalt RaQs for webhosting . He's very successfully making the move from RaQs to virtual private servers on very powerful hardware, and in so doing saving a lot of space (moving from two cabinets to about a half) and power, and giving me a lot of old RaQ550s and RaQ4s in the bargain.

Jeff