[Discuss] On-site backups revisited - rsnapshot vs. CrashPlan

[richb at pioneer.ci.net (Rich Braun)]

Rich Pieri noted:
> What possible benefit is there to using a one-off custom database when
> the problem has already been solved? ... It only works
> with custom tools designed to work with that custom database just like
> Legato Networker (or whoever owns it now) or any of a plethora of
> vendor lock-in "solutions".

Well, I'll hazard a guess that in 90%+ of cases, anyone who has ever
approached the backup problem has come up with a one-off custom database as an
integral component of their solution.  Look behind the scenes and chances
you'll find a database, by any other name, lurking underneath.  You need a
list of files, you need a place to put file meta data, you need a way to run
comparisons.

That has nothing whatsoever to do with whether Rich Braun is going to lock a
potential user into a particular solution, even if my code were to be
published and used. I'm not following your argument.

> I'm not against teaching. I am against the idea that "let me throw a
> database at it" is ever a good answer. Backups need to be simple to
> create and simple to restore. Anything that complicates these two
> requirements is to be avoided.

Different strokes, different folks.  You can avoid complexity, you can avoid
databases, whatever.  Those are your choices.

I pretty much never choose a solution based on hard-and-fast criteria like
those.  Each reader here makes their own choices, and I'm sure many agree with
you.  But on this matter, you and I do not.

-rich