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I'm implementing a backup system for our network, and finding it somewhat confusing wading through all the options to match them against our needs.

  1. We want the backups stored on hard-drive storage on our LAN - this will be on a dedicated server with a lot of local storage; offsite backups are handled separately.
  2. Clients can be divided into three types:
    A) Linux servers, on the LAN with Static IPs
    B) Windows Servers, on the LAN with static IPs
    C) Windows laptops, which move around and are only sometimes on the LAN.

Client type C) is what makes this tricky - we need a solution that will (preferably) backup when on the LAN and not complain or send large volumes of data when offsite, and the solution needs to be able to handle Microsoft Outlook. We don't need bare-metal backups for these systems, just an assurance that user documents are not lost if the laptops go missing.

Can either Amanda or Bacula do this, or are there other solutions I should look into? (Free is nice, but not required) There doesn't seem to be a lot of information on how the Windows clients for these tools behave, with most documentation being geared towards backing up servers that have consistent connectivity.

Dennis Williamson
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DrStalker
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2 Answers2

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Amanda and Bacula are both nice for direct file backups. I personally use rsnapshot However, it's all depending on your setup :

A) No biggie for the Linux server...you mount the backup space in rw when backuping, else its a ro mount for security

B) Same, but with something Windows-based, like robocopy

C) If the laptops dont connect on the LAN thru some VPN...a file sync with the fileserver could be very appropriate. ie: The My documents folder = \server\%username%. As for Outlook, you may want to connect thru OWA and then backuping only the server?

vn.
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Our company resolved the problem with Windows laptops - it's the users' responsibility to do backups when they're in the office. Sometimes low-tech is better.