plese teach me about backups

[DoubleV]

we're looking into "personalizing" our site.
i am just starting out in a server side world, so really hardly have any clue about things.
first, in general, how do you do backups? where/how do you store them?
any info, links to read etc would be great

second, how do you do backups on data that might be changing any minute of the day?


--------------------------------------------------
Goals are dreams with deadlines
-------------------------------------

http://www.nimlok.com

http://www.orbusinc.com

 

[QatQat]

First of all, is your DB running on your premises or at an ISP?

You can run your backup locally either copying the binary files related to your databse or using mysqldump utility that generates a .sql file.

If instead your DB is hosted by your ISP then it all depends on what tools they allow you to use. Usually ISPs running mysql use phpMyAdmin and let you connect to your database through a web based interface.
I think you can run your dump utility using PHPmyAdmin and download the .sql file over the net.

When it comes to store your backup it all depends on how sensitive is the information stored in your DB. You can even hire a company to store it away from your premises giving you guarantee at a cost if the information is vital.

About the frequency: your backup strategy has to be planned according to your needs. If your records are updated continuosly, you still have to capture the backup at a predetermined time. There is no continuos backup.

For that matter you rely on hardware measures such as redundant HW, Raid technologies, mirrors; if needed you can use database replication.
It all depends, I repeat, on how sensitive is the information stored in your DB.


Bye

Qatqat

Life is what happens when you are making other plans.

 

[DoubleV]

here's what our host has to say:
We do all we can to ensure that your data is backed up and that you can easily access backups if the need arises. We strongly encourage Resellers to maintain their own backups. Verio Data Backup Services Include:


1. Mirror Backup: On the physical server we have RAID hardware mirroring disk-to-disk backups on all FreeBSD Virtual Private Servers, and Software mirroring on all Solaris Virtual Private Servers. Your master and slave mirrored backups provide real-time, automated backups so your Web site stays online even if a hard disk fails.

2. Hard Disk Backup: In addition to the dual mirrored drives, each physical server has a hard disk backup that runs every 24-hours. You can access this hard drive backup anytime from your server command line via Getback.

3. Tape Backup: Approximately each week, we archive tape backups in the Verio tape library. There is a $100 fee for data restoration from one of these backup tapes. You can request a tape backup data restoration at the server command line through Getback.

* Verio recommends that in addition to our own multiple backup systems, you should maintain your own up to date copy of critical data for your own purposes at all times.


now i gotta go and read up on all that raid, mirrored drives stc stuff.

in addition to what our host is doing, what would we need? (we're running apache on freebsd)

--------------------------------------------------
Goals are dreams with deadlines
-------------------------------------

http://www.nimlok.com

http://www.orbusinc.com

 

[csniffer]

raid (Redundant array of inexpensive disks) is a method where by multiple hard drives act as one, and if one fails the information is already mirrored on a different one. So the data is fairly safe. But I would advise u to look at hosting your own site from your own computer at home and backup your hard-drive by cloning your harddrive. The reason for this is that you have more control over your server your Database and the scripts that are allowed to run. There are no monthly fees and hidden extra fees when your bandwidth exceeds its minimum which can be quite high. And in all honesty I could go on and on. So download Apache server, a MySQL database and install a php module onto your apache sever bobs your uncle, u will be up and running in to weeks. O and use no-ip to get around your dynamic ip (because your ip is constantly changing you need to keep updating the DNS database) this is a good programme. Hope any of this helps. 2 weeks I promise

To err is human, to completely mess up takes a computer.

 

[DoubleV]

csniffer,

the site is not my personal site. we're a mid-sized company. there were some conversations about us hosting our own site, but they never got off ground. we shall see what teh future will bring in that regard.

--------------------------------------------------
Goals are dreams with deadlines
-------------------------------------

http://www.nimlok.com

http://www.orbusinc.com

 

[csniffer]

my web host is simply a PIII 450mhz 256mb ram plenty of hard drive space 40 GIG, thats all you need if your site gets heavy on traffic then you will probably have to upgrade the pc though but that depends on what your site does and the resources that are used on your site ie is there a lot of writing to hard drive with temp files and that sort of stuff. good luck

To err is human, to completely mess up takes a computer.