Re: Backup Tapes

[VICTORIA GREENE <vg0001@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm afraid we have a very uneven approach to taking tapes offsite.    We
make a full backup every night.  The most recent backup is stored at the
checkout desk (along with the most recent backup from our web server) in a
box marked "Remove from library in Emergency" or something like that.
Folks at circ know that during a fire alarm, they grab the box.  Once a
week (roughly) on the weekend, whoever is on duty in systems takes home
the tape that is two days old (leaving the most recent one in the
library). I tend to keep one of these tapes at home for a month or more,
but there is no regular schedule for this.  This is a habit I picked up
from our old system when we discovered our backup tapes for two weeks had
been no good.  This has not happened with III if the verification is any
indication of a good backup.

Victoria W. Greene
Mgr, Automated Systems
Wicomico County Free Library
Salisbury MD


On Wed, 16 Jan 2002, Tristan Rhodes wrote:

> Does anyone have a tape rotation that includes taking tapes off-site for
> safety reasons such as a building fire?  How do you work it out?  Do the
> tapes go home or to another office?  We have a 21 day rotation of tapes (all
> full backups) and they all stay next to the server.  I was curious about how
> other people handle this.  Is there a recommended lifespan on these tapes
> (maybe in terms of how many repeated full backups they will take)?
>
> Tristan Rhodes - System Operator
> (970)-242-3331 Ext. 100
> Marmot Library Network, Inc.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sonya Fink" <fink@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <innopac@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 10:55 AM
> Subject: Re: Backup Tapes
>
>
> > We use 8 tapes (4 weekly and 4 every four weeks) -- i.e. A, B, C, D, E1,
> > E2, E3, E4.  We use A through D on a daily schedule (A for Monday morning
> > backups, B for Tuesday mornings, C for Wednesdays, D for Thursdays and E1
> > for Friday morning one week, E2 for Friday morning next week, E3 for the
> > Friday morning after that, etc.
> >
> > I wouldn't keep them longer than six months.  The E tapes can be kept for
> > a year or more, but A through D I ditch at six months.
> >
> > YMMV.  We do FULL backups every morning at 2 a.m. (instead of Daily
> > backups); Full backups are safer but definitely harder on your tapes'
> > lives.
> > *****************************************
> > Sonya Fink
> > Database / Systems Manager, L.A. IV
> > UCSF Kalmanovitz Library
> > tel: 415/514-3338
> > fax: 415/476-4653
> > email: fink@xxxxxxxxxx
> >
> > On Tue, 15 Jan 2002, James Coleman wrote:
> >
> > > We have just recently installed our server here at William Carey
> College.  A question among our staff has come up regarding backup tapes.
> How many tapes should be kept on hand for performing backups and how many
> times can tapes be used before having to be replaced?  Any input on this
> will be appreciated.
> > >
> > > Jim Coleman
> > >
> > > jcoleman@xxxxxxxxxx
> > >
> >
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