[no subject]

> I have experienced this firsthand.  Since I have more programs than I would
> care to admit, it takes a several weekends to get my main box even close to
> what it was before I have had to reinstall.  If you are running a stock box
> with documented changes then perhaps it "might" not be so bad.  But I
> suspect that most folks (especially IT types) have their main PC's full of
> little programs, links, scripts, etc etc that need to be backed up. A full
> backup is a whole lot less painful than trying to recreate a box.  After you
> have updated, upgraded, and patched a box it's even worse.

I have developed a policy for my personal machine: whenever I install
software, I install it from source, and "./configure
--prefix=~joe/software".  IOW, all the software I use on a daily basis
is installed in my home directory, and as long as I backup /home, I'm
good.

Of course, this prevents me from fully benefitting from all the APT
love...

-- Joe

> Greg
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
&gt; &gt; From: ale-bounces at ale.org [<a  rel="nofollow" href="mailto:ale-bounces";>mailto:ale-bounces</a> at ale.org]On Behalf Of Alan
&gt; &gt; Dobkin
&gt; &gt; Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 8:03 PM
&gt; &gt; To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
&gt; &gt; Subject: Re: [ale] Low-end tapedrives for SOHO environment
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; --On Friday, March 19, 2004 7:37 PM -0500 Geoffrey
&gt; &gt; &lt;esoteric at 3times25.net&gt;
&gt; &gt; wrote:
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; &gt; I realize there are solutions, I just don't see that they're going to
&gt; &gt; &gt; do you any better then a clean install, then reintroduce your backups.
&gt; &gt; &gt; I like the idea you're starting with a clean slate.  Then again, the
&gt; &gt; &gt; full backup will give you all the previously installed software without
&gt; &gt; &gt; having to retrace those steps.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; Take a look at &quot;The Tao of Backup&quot; site:
&gt; &gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.TaoBackup.com/";>http://www.TaoBackup.com/</a>
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; They make a pretty good case for doing full backups and other best
&gt; &gt; practice methods.  Make sure to follow the links at the bottom of
&gt; &gt; each page, i.e. &quot;Click for more information on Coverage&quot;:
&gt; &gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.TaoBackup.com/coverage_info.html";>http://www.TaoBackup.com/coverage_info.html</a>
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; One danger of not doing full backups is that it is very difficult
&gt; &gt; to identify and track all of the locations that you have stored
&gt; &gt; data which you can't easily retrieve from other sources.  Of course
&gt; &gt; /home and /etc are obvious, but there is also irreplaceable data in
&gt; &gt; /var (i.e. /var/spool/mail, esp. for imap users, /var/log, etc.),
&gt; &gt; /usr/local, /root, and any number of other places.  It is much
&gt; &gt; easier and less prone to error to do a full backup and then simply
&gt; &gt; exclude the directories you don't need, i.e. /tmp, /proc, etc.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; The other problem with partial backups is that it can take a lot
&gt; &gt; longer to locate and reinstall/recreate the exact same system and
&gt; &gt; application environment you had before.  If you need to be back
&gt; &gt; up and running in a minimal amount of time, full backups with a
&gt; &gt; &quot;bare metal&quot; restore procedure is the best way to go.
&gt; &gt;
&gt; &gt; Alan
&gt; &gt; _______________________________________________
&gt; &gt; Ale mailing list
&gt; &gt; Ale at ale.org
&gt; &gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale";>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a>
&gt; &gt;
&gt; 
&gt; _______________________________________________
&gt; Ale mailing list
&gt; Ale at ale.org
&gt; <a  rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale";>http://www.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a>
&gt; 
&gt; 

-- 
Resist the feed.
--
If you really want to get my attention, send mail to
jknapka .at. kneuro .dot. net.


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