[G4] OT: Making Large Size Project Backups : What Format To Use?

[Mel]

On Sunday, March 2, 2003, at 01:06 PM, Domains4Days.com wrote:

> When dealing with large size files (1 gig and up) such as graphics / 
> audio
> and video -  making backups to CD-R can get cumbersome and time 
> consuming
> using many disks to back up one project. (I understand for some people
> backing up video, - they simply write the final file back on to the 
> camera
> to use as a backup.) For  this thread, I'm more concerned with a 
> discussion
> comparing  the media formats:
>
> -CD-R
> -CD-RW
> -DVD-RAM ( the older format - I believe with a cartridge)
> -DVD-R - ( the newer format)
> -TAPE DRIVE BACKUP
>
> Some of the obvious points are that CD-R blank disks are very cheap to
> purchase right now - and another obvious point is that it gets time
> consuming to be backing up to 10 or 20 disks for one large project...
>
> - - -
>
> Q1: One of the most important questions I have is which is the best 
> and most
> SAFE and  RELIABLE format for archiving?  Which format has the best 
> chance
> for reuse one to five years later? ( I have heard some horror stories 
> were
> certain media will not load a few years later due to some kind of
> corruption...)
>
For long-term storage CD would probably be most reliable. DVD and all 
its variations is not very stable right now. Some Mac users are already 
having compatibility problems with the DVD-RAM that Apple used just a 
few years ago. You would be hard pressed to find a computer without a 
CD-ROM now, though, and I suspect that it will continue, since it is a 
firmly established standard, economical to use, and pretty reliable. 
All formats have some long-term reliability drawbacks, but I have 3-4 
year old burned CDs that are fine. Tape drives are stable, safe and 
reliable, and the formats tend to stick around, but are quite a lot 
more expensive than the other common methods.

> Q2: Which is the best format to make speedy backups?
>
Most speedy formats are those that have the worst reliability (e.g. 
hard drives, other magnetic media). In that regard, you need to choose 
what is most important, speed or reliability. For short term backup you 
can use faster media, although with CD-R up to 48x or 52x CD is 
becoming much faster than it used to be. CD-RW is much slower, and with 
CD-R media so inexpensive, I have quit using it. Magneto-optical is 
probably the best compromise between reliability and speed, but MO 
hasn't really caught on very well, which makes it a little difficult to 
acquire and maintain. I used MO for a while, but it became a little 
inconvenient and is now slower than the faster CD writers. Tape drives 
are slow because of their linear nature.

> Q3: Which is the best format to make speedy restores?  For example, 
> what if
> you want to  pull just 1 or 2 files out of a big project?  How easily 
> can
> you find those files - etc.?

Whatever media you choose, use Retrospect to do the backup. Retrospect 
gives you very flexible access to archives for restore. It does 
compression to minimize media usage. Retrospect does a great job of 
bridging across disks for large files. And job #1 for Retrospect is 
reliability, so you can be sure if you backed it up, it is available 
for restore from a Retrospect archive. I do a full backup of my machine 
to DVD-R every month or so, and a nightly backup of documents, mail, 
etc. to CD-R. This combination has saved me from hard disk failure on a 
couple of occasions.

> Q4: What other considerations which you have in choosing a large file 
> size
> backup / restore system?
>
Tape drive systems are the champions of capacity, although DVD is 
catching up. I am still wary of DVD because of the standards issues 
that still surround it years later. CD is inconvenient for large files, 
but is becoming less so with the fast burners. If cost or random-access 
restore are more important to you, go with CD (or DVD). If capacity is 
primary, look at a tape system. All formats have long-term access 
issues, and you need to put an archive refresh strategy in place if 
your data has value for more than 5 years. As OS changes take place and 
as archive media methods change, you can permanently lose access to 
your backups if you buy new machines that do not support old media. The 
company I work for has struggled with this in recent years. It takes 
careful planning, and sometimes a lot of money to avoid orphaning old 
archives.
I hope this helped a little.

Mel

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