Tom Galvin wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
>>
>> For anyone who's interested...
>>
>> 1. They want to keep backup tapes (even differentials) forever. (No 
>> regulations require this.)
>>
> 
> Ask why they want to do this.  You were not in the meeting where they 
> decided to do this.  They should be happy to tell you.

Include an estimate for the cost of tapes for one year of backups, as 
well. Don't forget the cost of storing them securely off-site.

>> 2. They want to allow the vagaries of the Gregorian calendar and its 
>> lack of synchronisation with the 7-day week affect when our backups do 
>> and don't happen.
> 
> Ask why?

That honestly doesn't seem too problematic to me, unless you want to 
utterly automate the backups. Given you have to be there to change 
tapes, have a script that does the first-of-month backup and another 
that does the friday-backup, for example.

I can even understand why they might want such a thing, if it makes it 
easier to find files from a particular day in a long collection of backups.

>> 3. They want to keep the weeks' tapes in the server room until the end 
>> of the week.
>>
> 
> Provide your observations about the potential risks to this choice, and 
> the benefits of alternatives.

Also point out the cost of buying a secured fireproof media safe big 
enough to hold a week's worth of backup tapes. (Hint: they aren't 
cheap.) Note that a fireproof safe that will keep tapes safe isn't the 
same as a fireproof tape that will keep paper safe.

>> 4. They want to verify that tape restoration works by restoring a 
>> standardised, unchanging 0.09 KB file and performing a visual 
>> inspection to check that it "looks the same". (In fairness, if the 
>> backup software says it's restored, you can be 99% sure it's fine. 
>> Usually if there's a problem the software will complain that it 
>> "can't" restore the file, rather than restore gibberish. But even so...)
>>
> 
> Be nice, and give constructive feedback.

Again, shouldn't be hard. Ask if you can back up the file then use an 
automated comparison rather than a visual comparison to make sure it 
worked.

>> 5. The order in which tapes are run is not clearly described. In fact, 
>> the relevant section is utterly incomprehensible. Surely *they* know 
>> what they meant - but *I* haven't got a clue!
>>
> 
> Ask for clarification.

Exactly, yes. Then, create a chart for a couple months of backups, and 
include it and say "please check that I have correctly paraphrased your 
instructions."  Then follow the chart if they say it's OK.

>> 6. Similarly, there's a new form to fill out - but I don't understand 
>> why, what does on it, or when it's meant to be done.
> 
> Ask and you shall receive.

Yeah, these don't seem like WTF problems as much as "we didn't write 
down everything we talked about".

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)

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