[PLUG] best strategy for backing up small server

[Manas Alekar]

>    I have a small ubuntu server running for our development needs  as

> well as file server. We are now considering to upgrade it with  ubuntu
> 10.04 LTS.

The first tenet of system administration is: if it ain't broken don't fix it.
 
> We do not have any automatic backup system for now. I want  to
> add something like RAID 1 for backing up data. Can anyone suggest  best
> practices? Should I use and extra internal hard disk or external  hard
> disk? Is is possible to use fallback hard drive of bigger size and  use
> extra space for other purposes, such as storing non critical data?
> Any  pointers to good information?

RAID1 improves robustness. It is not a substitute for backup. Why you say?
Because hardware failure is not the only cause of losing data.

Thumb rules? Slower disks are more reliable and that is why they are 
preferred for backup. In places where access to server rooms cannot be
controlled, access to drawers can still be.

Hope that helps.

Manas