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Reliability of Time Machine on Snow Leopard Server

I ran across a message that even though Time Machine is included in OSX 10.6 Server, Apple does not support its use in this system.

Now I can't find it again. Is that true?

Not trying to clone an entire computer, just the Library (for WebServer and QuickTime Streaming), would it be reliable enough for this?

I am using the second internal drive for the backup disk, and already have the entire computer backed up to an external image.

Not asking about strategy, but does Time Machine work reliably for what I am doing?


Second question, is TimeMachineEditor a good way to change the backup time in OSX Server 10.6?

Want to now make it in the middle of the night.


Thanking anyone for answers.

Frank


(I have to say this new forum structure is poor compared to the last one! Much harder to find topics and subtopics, who cares about the fancy toolbar)

Intel XServe, Mac OS X (10.6.7), Server

Posted on May 6, 2011 7:37 AM

Reply
4 replies

May 6, 2011 10:50 AM in response to Frank Fulchiero

Oops! I wouldn't rely on complete backups from Time Machine....

Don't use time machine to back up your server unless you want ONLY to back up user data.


Read the following post:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3023067?answerId=15082625022#15082625022


Summary, it will not back up your open directory. It will not back up your mail database, and it will not back up your mysql database. ...or if it does, it'll be a potentially corrupted one.


That's why apple says they don't support it.


Otherwise it works fine! 😀

May 6, 2011 12:13 PM in response to Frank Fulchiero

Thanks for the quick responses. So, gracoat, you think I would be ok with TimeMachine, as I am just backing up files I manually copied to the WebServer and QuickTimeStreaming folders? I can restore the entire server from my image, then manually copy the files over from the Time Machine backups. Think that would work?


(right now I am just manually copying the above two directories to HD2, trying to automate the process)

A bit disappointed that Apple includes this utility that has unpredictable behavior!


Any better/easy way to back up an entire Server HD/Library/ directory (and everything in it, including invisible files) on OSX 10.6 Server to a secondary internal drive? I do have another server that has some databases on it. Can do a Google search, but if someone has a procedure they like would like to hear about it.


Thanking anyone for feedback.

Frank

May 6, 2011 12:34 PM in response to Frank Fulchiero

It's actually quite usual for backup programs to suck at databases. I believe that even the high end backup systems like Retrospect etc have to take the database off line before it'll successfully perform the backup.


Databases just don't like to be backed up! In fact, if you tail the log in OS X server, when you perform an archive on it, it checks to make sure that the parts of the database that it's backing up that moment are not in use. For a program like time machine, that would just not be reasonable considering the way that it's designed to work.


They include it with OS X server so that tech guys like us can tell it NOT to back up things like the .mach folder and the /System Folder. ...and the netboot images etc. Most importantly, we tell it NOT to back up the Database files.

What it SHOULD back up is those files that your users can delete accidentally. That way you get to look like the hero when you get it back for them! 😉


All that said... Here's what I do with time machine:

I don't back up any files that are duplicated everywhere else. (netboot images, restore images, CD/DVD images) I don't back up Mail, MySQL, and OD. Lastly, I don't back up my Roaming Profile shared folder.


Since my Open Directory only has user information in it, and I don't often delete or add users, I only perform an archive every other month or so.

MySQL gets a back up once a month. - though I only use the MySQL databases for a Forum that I've set up for the students at my school. If they lose a months of social networking posts, I'm not too concerned about it.


Mail... Well, I don't actually use mail on OS X. Being an education institution, we get google apps for free. So I got that route. One less thing to manage.

Reliability of Time Machine on Snow Leopard Server

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