[comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc] Backing up PC's over a network?

malc@tahoe.unr.edu (Malcolm L. Carlock) (10/11/89)

It looks as if we will soon have a number of MS-DOS PC's attached to our
TCP/IP network here, and there is some interest in backing up these PC's
onto a central, networked tape drive or drives.  My questions:

- Are there any packages allowing full and incremental backups/restores
  of MS-DOS machines over a TCP/IP network to a tape drive
  
  - on a remote Unix system ?

  - on a remote MS-DOS system ?

I'd be interested in both recommendations and experiences regarding such
software (if it exists...)  I will summarize email responses to the net.

I would also be interested in hearing any folkore regarding doing such
things over Novell networks, etc.

Thanks in advance,


Malcolm L. Carlock

malc@unrvax.unr.edu
uunet!unrvax!malc

hubert@cosmo.UUCP (Hubert Hahn) (10/12/89)

Hello netland,

  the simplest way to do a PC backup to a remote unix machine is
via PC-NFS (distribud by SUN Microsystems). On the Unix machine
you should also run NFS and the rest is only mounting a directory
from the unix machine which will be identified as a normal disk drive
by the PC. 
For backing up the PC you can use the normal PC-DOS backup/restore
programs. Sharing of printers (a printer connected to the unix machine i
is visible to the PC) is also possible.

best regards

Hubert Hahn
Auf der Reide 20a
D-4000 Duesseldorf 30
West Germany

les@chinet.chi.il.us (Leslie Mikesell) (10/12/89)

In article <3029@tahoe.unr.edu> malc@tahoe.unr.edu (Malcolm L. Carlock) writes:
>It looks as if we will soon have a number of MS-DOS PC's attached to our
>TCP/IP network here, and there is some interest in backing up these PC's
>onto a central, networked tape drive or drives.  My questions:

>I would also be interested in hearing any folkore regarding doing such
>things over Novell networks, etc.

I just tried something that I didn't expect to work using AT&T's starlan
DOS server.  I made a link from /dev/rmt/c0s0 (a 125M streaming tape
in a 386 unix server) to a file named "tape" in my home directory which
is linked as drive H: to a PC on the network.  From the PC, I used
GNUtar (compiled for DOS) and from drive C: (local hard disk) executed:
tar cvf h:tape .
and it actually created a tape that I could read back under dos or
unix.  Amazing... and I was just about to waste a month or so cobbling
up some kind of netbios<->tli connection to do exactly that.

Les Mikesell

dab@asylum.SF.CA.US (Dave Bridgham) (10/13/89)

FTP's PC/TCP also provides a way to backup PC's over the net.  If your
unix machine is a berkeley derivative (i.e. has rexec or rsh and rmt)
then you can backup directly to a tape (or file) using the tar
program.  It also can do a form of incremental backup.  The
incremental backup was supposed to be patterned after unix's
backup/restore, but I didn't understand fully and it's a little
different.  Quite usable, but potentially confusing to people who are
used to unix.
						David Bridgham

jbvb@VAX.FTP.COM (James Van Bokkelen) (10/16/89)

   Date: 13 Oct 89 05:16:48 GMT
   From: Dave Bridgham <oli-stl!asylum!dab@decwrl.dec.com>

   FTP's PC/TCP also provides a way to backup PC's over the net.  If your
   unix machine is a berkeley derivative (i.e. has rexec or rsh and rmt)
   then you can backup directly to a tape (or file) using the tar
   program.  It also can do a form of incremental backup.  The
   incremental backup was supposed to be patterned after unix's
   backup/restore, but I didn't understand fully and it's a little
   different.

It used to be a little different, but as of 2.04, Stev fixed TAR (one line
of code) to be exactly like Unix.

James B. VanBokkelen		26 Princess St., Wakefield, MA  01880
FTP Software Inc.		voice: (617) 246-0900  fax: (617) 246-0901