BK-L Archives

Archiver > BK > 2007-01 > 1167694592


From: "Dennis Allen" <>
Subject: Re: [BK] Data Backup - general thoughts
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2007 23:36:32 +0000
References: <000201c72da5$ffa42630$2d00a8c0@countduckula>
In-Reply-To: <000201c72da5$ffa42630$2d00a8c0@countduckula>


Hi Jim, I'd like to give this a try, thanks

Dennis

Jim wrote on 01/01/2007, 13:08:

>
> This has been a very useful debate and I'm completely rethinking the
> way I
> approach data backups, specifically for BK because of its relatively
> manageable file sizes and structure.
>
> I'm fortunate enough to have a free Google mail (G-Mail) account that
> has a
> storage system for each user account allowing easy searching for
> particular
> topics (e.g. family related keywords) and in excess of 2.5GB (yes, 2.5
> Giga
> Bytes) of storage for each account. I'm about to add that to my two
> routine
> back-up data stores, the others being another home networked PC with RAID
> drives and the trusty old CD-R. If anyone would like to try a G-Mail
> account for data back-up, please e-mail me off list and I'll send you the
> "invitation". I have about 90 invitations left.
>
> RAID drive configurations are a whole different topic and have their own
> drawbacks - for instance, don't expect to be able to transfer a pair
> of RAID
> drives from one PC to another and be able to see the data on them -
> unless
> you have EXACTLY the same RAID controller hardware on the new
> motherboard.
>
> The use of Jump/Thumb drives also needs to be treated with care because,
> even though they are solid state devices they are prone to data
> corruption
> caused by stray "particles" (e.g. cosmic radiation) randomly altering the
> state of data bits. Admittedly this is a rare occurrence but it needs
> to be
> considered.
>
> CDs and DVDs, as noted by others, also have a "shelf life" that can be
> affected by the quality of the media, the storage sleeves in which
> they are
> kept (chemical reaction), how they are annotated (use a proper CD pen and
> not a hard tipped pen - because the data storage layer is very close
> to the
> "write-on" face and NOT the face through which the laser shines),
> temperature, and the speed at which the data is written. My
> brother-in-law
> and I experimented a few years ago with this and we came to the
> conclusion
> that it was more secure to write the data relatively slowly, e.g. if your
> drive can write at 56x (and the media can also support that sort of
> speed),
> manually select a write speed significantly slower e.g. 32x. That
> seemed to
> improve readability on a range of older CD drives that we'd
> accumulated over
> the years.
>
> The ultimate backup media is still good old paper and ink. Might
> involve a
> bit of retyping but hey, how far can we reasonably expect electronic
> media
> to be able to cope with hundreds of years' worth of pristine data
> storage?
>
> Never lose your "originals". They are the things you REALLY need to
> store
> securely.
>
> May you all have a happy and productive New Year.
>
> Regards
>
> Jim T
> Troon
> Scotland
>
>
>
>
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