BackUp Server Strategies with limited storage room

[carlo.anselmi]

Hi

I have limited storage for several users and my ideal would be running the "BackUp Server" mode if I could use also the "Duplicate" ("mirror") function, which of course is not available in "BackUp Server" mode (Retrospect 6.1 under OSX 10.4.8). I don't really need an incremental backup, this is why I was refering to the "Duplicate" option.

 

I then have to run another script every 10-15 days with the "recycle" option, so that I can free the space on the disk and then the "BackUp server" can restart.

This is not very safe because I don't have another backup somewhere else but I could not think of anything smarter (any hint would be very apreciated!).

I am writing also because the script which should recycle the storage set sometime leaves previous files ("chunks" of the previously executed backUp server).

Is this a regular behavior?

 

Many thanks for your kind attention

Best regards

Carlo

[Lennart_T]

You are not telling us what you are backing up to.

And how many are "several users"?

Finally, why "duplicate" if you have limited storgae room? (As that would copy ALL files from EVERY client, A "normal" backup copies all files from the first client, but only files unique to the second, third, fourth client, saving LOTS of space.)

[twickland]

As you observe, backing up to a single backup set is not ideal, since you lose all your backup data when you recycle. The best choice is to back up to two or more backup sets, rotating between them. It's even better if you can rotate one set to a different location, in case of fire or other disaster.

 

You mention you're backing up to disk. An additional external FireWire disk is pretty cheap these days, especially relative to the costs of losing a lot of important data.

 

As Lennart notes, we don't know what type of backup set you're using. If you're using a File backup set and you really can't afford an external drive, you can have multiple file backup sets on the same volume that you rotate among, so that you don't lose all previous data when you recycle one set.

 

I would encourage you, though, to think about increasing your storage capacity.

 

As for the issue of an incomplete recycle, you'll need to describe your setup and recycle backup script in more detail. What you're describing is simply not possible in a recycle backup, due to the fact that a backup set is a single file, though it could occur with the Duplicate function.