Kris Webb, Teradactyl -- Considerations when Choosing a Backup System

The Andrew File System has a proven track record as a scalable and secure ne twork file system. Organizations everywhere depend on AFS for the sharing of data bo th internally and externally. The most telling sign of the longevity of AFS is the a doption of the open source version of the software (OpenAFS). One of the important challenges facing AFS system administrators is the need to provide efficient, cost-effective backup strategies that can scale with ever increasing cell sizes. This paper provides an overview of the issues to consider when putting together a long term back up and recovery strategy. The topics include: Methods available for data backup and recovery; Impact of the backup function on cell performance and scale; Volume managem ent; Centralized vs. distributed backups; Disk-to-Tape, Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape, and Dis k-to-Disk comparisons; Disaster Recovery requirements; Advanced Solutions; The reade r should have a basic understanding of backup and recovery concepts and familiarity with AFS architecture and cell administration.








Slides: AFS Backup Considerations