UNIX Backup and Recovery (CD-ROM)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Unix file system is reliable and very well-suited to mission-critical applications in which maximum uptime is key. But it's not flawless, and that's where Unix Backup & Recovery comes in. This book details dozens of strategies for keeping Unix systems online. The strategies range from good administration practices that minimize problems to hot-restore techniques that allow you to recover from breaks as seamlessly as possible. The book also contains absolutely inclusive archive techniques that allow you to restore huge databases and file systems from backup media.

Unix Backup & Recovery includes a lot of general "recommended practices" advice and lots of scary stories about lost files (and more than a few about heroic system administrators who saved the day, or at least the data). But it gets down to brass tacks too, documenting lots of backup and recovery tools that can make the administrator's job much easier when they're used properly (including cpio, tar, and AMANDA). Coverage of specific systems' backup and recovery issues (including those of Solaris, HP-UX, Oracle, Sybase, and Informix) are invaluable, as is the coverage of techniques for extracting information from ancient, obsolete backup media. The point: read this book before you have a disaster, so you can do everything required to head one off and be ready to deal with problems when they happen. --David Wall

Topics covered: Strategies for protecting the contents and availability of Unix systems, particularly those running Solaris, Linux, Compaq True-64 Unix, HP-UX, IRIX, and AIX. Coverage also includes backup and recovery software (free and commercial), and the mechanics of protecting and fixing large database management systems. There's also a lot of advice on defensive administration, backup hardware, and obsolete media.

Review

"In conclusion, this is a reference, that is so profoundly useful that you should start to use it routinely to underpin knowledge in yur day-to-day work. Before I read this book I only considered three manuals as key personal references to be kept close to hand at all times (all of them "O'Reillys"). They were: Practical UNIX and Internet Security by Garfinkel, Spafford and Schwartz, TCP/IP Network Administration by Hunt and Essential System Administration by Frisch I now have a fourth to add to this list. Wherever I go, whatever systems I end up administering, these four books will be nearby. I urge you to do the same." - Steven-Ashley Woltering, Ping (HP User Group Technical Journal), May

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Product Details

• CD-ROM: 730 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media (December 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565926420
• ISBN-13: 978-1565926424
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #541,415 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only book of its kind., December 24, 1999

By	Benjamin J. Feen (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Backup and recovery can be -- let's face it, IS -- a miserable responsibility, and there's never been a way to learn how it's done in the real world, let alone multi-terabyte enterprise environments. This book provides several critical features for anyone whose responsibilities include data storage management:

1. It's huge. A vast range of backup and recovery topics are covered.

2. It covers the theory and practice of network-based backup in large environments, whereas most technical guides assume you're dumping a few gigs to an 8mm. Even if that's the case, this book will help you do it right and show you how to plan for the future.

3. It's full of anecdotes and personal experiences, and it's written in a friendly style. Backup and recovery is not exactly the most engaging topic, but the conversational tone and the real-life horror stories in sidebars make it far easier to absorb than your average vendor manual.

4. It covers hot database backups without assuming you're a DBA.

5. It's an O'Reilly.

If you're a sysadmin, buy it. It'll serve you well for the rest of your career.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Backup Reference, April 1, 2000

By	Elizabeth Zinkann (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

Backup and recovery are the quintessential thankless jobs. If you complete them successfully, no one notices. However, any mistakes (whether the fault is yours, a mechanical failure, or some other disaster) will create more attention than a "Wanted" poster on the Internet. It's a well-known fact that every computer system should be backed up regularly. However, the guidelines are a little vague. No one tells you how to backup, what to backup or when to backup. It's your responsibility as administrator. You are the one who somehow has to form a policy, make sure that it works, and be able to recover the computer data and setup in case of a catastrophe.

Finally, someone has put the procedures in a readable, practical guide. W. Curtis Preston's UNIX Backup and Recovery shows you how to determine backup plans and procedures. He even describes the common (and the not-so-common) problems with recovery. He discusses the elements of backup policies and describes commercial products that your company may prefer. Preston illustrates how to backup your company's data, its databases, and more importantly, demonstrates how to recover that data from its backup media.

Every system administrator needs this book. It's not a luxury; it's a necessity. Preston has written a guidebook for the dreaded tasks of backup and recovery, which shows administrators how to define the policies and implement the procedures. UNIX Backup & Recovery is a superb and essential book that will be used often.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an definitive book on an unpleasant subject, December 8, 1999

By	Brad Knowles "Consultant & Author" (Austin, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I worked with Curtis at a previous employer of mine. You don't begin to truly understand the complete scope of backups and all the issues involved unless you're a certified genius (which he is), and you live, eat, breathe, and drink backups day-in and day-out (which he does).

Most admins hate to even think about backups (it's the most menial and unpleasant of all admin tasks), but we also recognize that they're necessary. Finally we have a book from a true expert that can help us minimize the effluent that we have to deal with, and spend more of our time doing the things we really like.