[Ti] OSX Advice (long)

[Chris Olson]

RFD wrote:

> When you update or install something on your internal drive, do the same on
> your external drive to keep them current (but not until you're sure the
> update or install hasn't caused any problems on the internal drive).

Use your unix tools.

rsync -arvz --delete <source> <destination>
run from a daily cron job is quite effective for mirroring data backups. 
  It is also totally automatic, and if your MTA is functioning 
correctly, cron will email you a note outlining what took place during 
the backup job.

You also don't necessarily have to have an external drive to back up to. 
  Another computer with a large hard disk also works.  You can back up 
to a Windows box, another Mac, a network file server, or whatever, with 
rsync over ssh:
rsync -e 'ssh -i /root/.ssh/<public_key>' -arvz --delete <source> 
<destination>
also run from a cron job, with a public ssh key stored on the receiving 
(backup) server to allow login without have to type a password at the 
command line.

Mirroring an entire drive is not usually needed, IMHO.  Just mirror 
important system configurations and user space data.  In the event of 
drive failure, it is better to start with a fresh install of your 
software, then simply retrieve your important data from your backups.
-- 
Chris Olson
Network Administrator
AST Communications,  Inc.
Barron,  WI   USA