RE: Backing up mobile users

[John LLOYD <jal@mda.ca>]

We use Veritas Netbackup; the client software has a reporting mechanism that
shows (if you look) what the status of the last backup was (how many files,
how many kilobytes, when).

The file restore utility also has a window showing a calendar of recent
backups.

Notwithstanding the fact user's "dont care" until they've lost something, we
do get good compliance.  Educating people helps.  So does managing the
laptop backup dates: if something is not backed up for two weeks we dispatch
a tech to ask "why" didn't it work?  He pretends it's a defect in the
software or the installation; this gives him a chance to give a friendly
reminder to allow backups.

Our environment puts user's email on their laptops; they don't have to think
long before they realize they want backups, even infrequent ones.  We just
tell them to leave it in the office, turned on, overnight.  The "pull"
method.

The one bad thing we do is: keep daily incrementals for 3 weeks and full
bi-weekly backups for a year.  It's too much; the tape cost is horrendous.


--John

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bennett Samowich [mailto:brs@ben-tech.com]
> Sent: May 16, 2001 8:53 AM
> To: sage-members@usenix.org
> Subject: Backing up mobile users
> 
> 
> Hello all,
> 
> Just a quick question to inquire about different ways that people have
> attacked to problem of backing up laptops.  We have tried 
> placing an icon on
> the desktop that spawns a backup process but we couldn't get 
> the users to
> run it reliably.  We have also tried an automated "pull" from 
> out backup
> server, but that only works if the laptop is connected 
> locally at the time
> of the job.  I am assuming, and we all know what that means, 
> that this is a
> daunting task to begin with but would like to know how others have
> approached and hopefully solved this problem.
> 
> - Bennett
>