rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) (05/24/89)
Let us say that I have a big machine with a huge hard disk
connected to the other end of my Amiga's serial port. I
want to run backups over this line (91MB overnight would
require at least 38.4K; so I use Perry's dual serial board.)
At serial rates, compression might be nice as well (it's
faster to compress, especially with a 68020, then it is to
send.) Is there any software out there that supports such a
strange backup/restore method? Or should I just bite the
bullet and buy a Mac tape drive for $1300 and pray to find
some software that will talk to it? (Even then it will take
three 40MB tapes so the backup won't be completely unattended.)
Another hard disk isn't the answer; I move backups off-site
for maximum protection from odor and wetness.
-tom "still looking for a reasonable backup method" the rokbmacintyre@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Blair MacIntyre) (05/24/89)
In article <9409@polya.Stanford.EDU> rokicki@polya.Stanford.EDU (Tomas G. Rokicki) writes: > Let us say that I have a big machine with a huge hard disk > connected to the other end of my Amiga's serial port. I > want to run backups over this line (91MB overnight would > require at least 38.4K; so I use Perry's dual serial board.) > Is there any software out there that supports such a > strange backup/restore method? Or should I just bite the > bullet and buy a Mac tape drive for $1300 and pray to find > some software that will talk to it? (Even then it will take > three 40MB tapes so the backup won't be completely unattended.) I thought of two methods: 1) ( Matt, you listening? ) If the other machine is a Unix box, write a DNET server to allow you to write directly to the file system on the other end. Basically you would end up with a device on the Amiga that would allow you to use the other file system just like any other amiga device. 2) Do something like: Run the backup on the Amiga, directing the output to a file like pipe:backup run a file transfer ( xmodem, kermit, whatever ) to copy pipe:backup to the other end. Take the files on the other end and do something with them. If you have to change the tapes after 40Meg, you could use Matt's backup program with 40Meg file size chunks. This would, in effect create three (for your example) separate pipes pipe:backup/file01 pipe:backup/file02 pipe:backup/file03 which you could upload when the tape is ready. The beauty is that the pipe would block the backup program until you started uploading, making this very easy to control. Well, what do you think? -- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-///-= = Blair MacIntyre, bmacintyre@watcgl.{waterloo.edu, UWaterloo.ca} \\\/// = = now appearing at the Computer Graphics Lab, U of Waterloo! \XX/ = = "Don't be mean ... remember, no matter where you go, there you are." BBanzai=
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (05/26/89)
Re: Tom the Rok's backup dilemma ... I regularly do several things whose requirements are similar to Tom's, and my solutions are: 1) compress the files (Lempel-Ziv) on the Amiga (forming those files with the .Z suffix) and Ymodem-BATCH the whole bundle over to a UNIX system; I move multi-megabytes this way between my "site" and the friendly neighborhood FTP machine. 2) get a tape drive for you Amiga's SCSI bus, start the backup, and go to sleep. What I use is a Fujitsu M2451A drive with M1008A controller; this baby uses the 190MB ANSI 1/2" tape cartridges. In fact, you SAW this unit when I demo'd it at BADGE last year (you were right there in the front row while I was "on stage" sweating under the lights, trying to stay awake after only 1 hour sleep the night before because it took me 4 hours to drill the damned holes in the box for the tape drive mounting because I didn't realize I was operating the drill motor in reverse! :-) I haven't yet written a proper driver for this beast, but I mount it as if it were a disk drive and just write bits to it (the tape unit doesn't care!) Have to do a manual rewind (e.g. push one button), but it takes only 2 minutes or so. Another possibility (which I'm still investigating) is adapting a 1/2" 9-track drive to the Amiga to ease exchange of UNIX tar tapes; why not, I also have a paper tape unit on the Amiga! :-) Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]
jms@tardis.Tymnet.COM (Joe Smith) (05/29/89)
In article <18827@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes: >Another possibility (which I'm still investigating) is adapting a 1/2" 9-track >drive to the Amiga to ease exchange of UNIX tar tapes; why not, I also have a >paper tape unit on the Amiga! :-) >Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ] Thad, you are sick! :-) The world needs more warped minds. Anyone else want to admit hooking up el-strangeo hardware to their Amy? -- Joe Smith (408)922-6220 | SMTP: JMS@F74.TYMNET.COM or jms@tymix.tymnet.com McDonnell Douglas FSCO | UUCP: ...!{ames,pyramid}!oliveb!tymix!tardis!jms PO Box 49019, MS-D21 | PDP-10 support: My car's license plate is "POPJ P," San Jose, CA 95161-9019 | narrator.device: "I didn't say that, my Amiga did!"
thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) (05/31/89)
Gee, for someone posting from TYMNET, Joe's tirade against paper tape is a big surprise! Way back when (ca. 1967 or thereabout), "we" (Tymshare) had only 1 computer, and I remember backing up a LOT of files onto paper tape, such as the sources to many of the programs I wrote: ECAP, Easyplot, IML, Magnum, POINT, etc. Yeah, I was there in the early days. Dave Schmidt (co-founder of Tymshare) is on the Board of Directors of my current company, and we just recently hired Terry O'Rourke (son of the other founder of Tymshare). But I digress ... Seriously, I had some 30+ years of goodstuff on paper tape, and you'd be surprised to know how many INDUSTRIES still depend on paper tape: paper mills, clothes manufacturers, numerical control machinery (punch presses, milling machines, etc.), etc. I suppose next I'll have to interface a card reader/punch to the Amiga, and follow that with the ol' unit-record plugboards, top that off with an abacus interface, then the grand finale: clay tablets with robot-armed writing stylii! Sheesh! :-) :-) P.S. Dale Luck uses (used?) paper tape to produce the stitching instructions for the monograms on the "BOING!" jackets he sells (sold?). Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]
phoenix@ms.uky.edu (R'ykandar Korra'ti) (06/01/89)
In article <18990@cup.portal.com> thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan) writes: >Way back when (ca. 1967 or thereabout), "we" (Tymshare) had only 1 computer, >and I remember backing up a LOT of files onto paper tape... When I was in North Carolina, we had a programme that would make little banners using the paper tape punchers on the teletypes hooked up to the Univac. -- | "Signature, hell! I can barely print!" | phoenix@ukma.bitnet | Plink: | | "Who let him in here?" - Tom Smith | CIS: 72406,370 | Skywise | | "Yes, that IS my real name. No, I'm NOT joking." | QLink: Bearclaw |
jim@syteke.UUCP (Jim Sanchez) (06/03/89)
Hey I used to work at a Navy R & D lab and the older generation of submarine
based nuclear missles had their targeting information on punched tape.
It was mylar tape so you couldn't accidently target a missle to the wrong
place :-) but it was punched on VERY expensive punches and came in three
colors for the security classification of the tape. As I recall red was
for TOP SECRET with blue and yellow for lower classifications. This
stuff was used up until about 8 years ago and may still be used by
the Brits.
--
Jim Sanchez {sun,hplabs}!sun!sytek!syteke!jim OR
Hughes LAN Systems, Brussels mcvax!prlb2!sunbim!syteke!jim