Backups (was Re: Deleting a lockfile)

[Richard Kreiss]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kenneth Brody [mailto:kenb at fptech.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 2:07 PM
> To: rkreiss at gccconsulting.net
> Cc: 'filePro Mailing List'
> Subject: Backups (was Re: Deleting a lockfile)
> 
> On 4/6/2011 1:52 PM, Richard Kreiss wrote:
> [...]
> > Interesting aside to all of this, when they checked with their outside
> > service, who manages their system, they found that the last good
> > backup was from December 2010.
> >
> > Someone messed up the configuration of the backup software when they
> > switched from tape to their NAS drive, so it was not being done.
> >
> > I would suggest to all, check to insure that backups are being done
> > and then make sure it can be restored especially if backing up to tape.
> 
> Also, never let your hardware service guy touch your backups.  Especially
if
> he's fixing a problem that's causing it to eat media.
> 
> True story from "way back when".  (ie: floppy-based TRS-80 model II days.)
> 
> Client calls up, hoping that someone at sCC could help them restore their
> Profile data from backups.  Turns out they had a hardware problem, where
> the floppy drives would eat the media, and the service guy tried fixing
it.
> "Tried", as in "I think it's fixed, give me a disk, and let me see if it's
working
> now", only to find that it would still eat the disk.  Repeat, ad nauseum,
until
> every single backup copy that they had was destroyed.
> 
> I don't know about you, but after around the second round (if not sooner),
I
> probably would have told the guy "why don't you try your own disk this
> time".
> 
> I don't recall the outcome.
> 
> --
Ken,

We all probably have stories like that.

My friend was the controller for a textile company that used disk packs (a
long time ago).  Backups were from one disk pack to another.  One of the
drives was failing and crashing the disk pack.  The drive was serviced and
when they went to test it, it crashed another disk pack.  The manufacturer
replaced the drive with one of their own that worked,  They took back the
faulty drive to their plant and after about 3 months of testing they finally
advised that the drive was working.  My friend said fine, you keep it as the
one you loaned us is working and we can't afford to have another disk pack
destroyed.

By the way, my client's outside service is both hardware and software.
These people maintain a mirrored server at their site.  The only problem
with the mirror, delete files on one machine, deletes them on the mirror.
Not great for this type of problem.

Richard