[BNM] Optimal Small Office File Storage and Backup Solution

[Andy Budd]

Hi Sevan,

Thanks for the advice. However I'm a complete dummy when it comes to  
these type of things so please forgive my ignorance if I ask some  
dumb questions.

> get a 2nd hand G4 or mac mini
> OS X server

You mentioned OS X server before. I was just wondering if it was  
really worth forking out £350 for considering the small size of the  
office? I'm not a techie, so how easy is OS X server to use/learn and  
will it play nice on something like a Mac mini

> a couple of large harddisks setup as a mirrored volume
> + a couple of large external disks for offsite backups.

When  you talk about mirrored volumes, is this something OS X server  
can handle, or do I need to do something like this?

http://www.backupbook.com/90Backup_Tips/0.default.html

> create a netinstall image of OS X with all the apps everyone in the
> office needs & store it on the server.
> In the event of a failure netboot a client mac & reinstall the  
> image you
>  created.
> that covers recovery of the system + apps.

Have no idea what a netinstall image is, but I'm guessing it means I  
can re-install all of the apps over the network from the server. Can  
we create one netinstalll image for all the apps, or do we have to  
create one for each machine, baring in mind that not every machine  
has the same apps/licences.

> then for the user data. you can either store all the home folders  
> on the
> servers & mount them remotely in which case you just need to back the
> the server & everything is covered

Sounds like an interesting idea. Can you make the home folders mount  
atomically so it's a seamless experience, or would you have to mount  
them each time you restarted?

I wonder if storing all the user data, as well as sites and other  
files may put too much strain on the server/network?

> or the home folders stay on each
> users machine & you run a script on each client mac which archives the
> home directories & dumps them onto the server & those archives are  
> then
> included in your backup of the serve.

OK

> backup software wise you could just use a script + rsync to copy stuff
> from the server to the external disks or have a look at something like
> retrospect.

I've used retrospect in the past, but wasn't a huge fan. However it's  
probably more user friendly than scripts and rsync.

I quite like the idea of creating disk images, so you can simply roll  
back to the last time you saved. However they do take quite a while  
to make, especially if it was over the network.

In this case, if one of the workstations dies, I guess you'd just re- 
install the OS, and then copy over the home directory.

> Check out the smug archives, there's been quiet a few backup related
> threads in the past 6 months.

Cheers. Will do.

Yours

Andy Budd
Creative Director, Clearleft Ltd
+44 (0)845 838 6163
+44 (0)7880 63 66 77