icsu8116@ming.cs.montana.edu (Weingart) (03/14/91)
1. For those that have bought the 400mg NeXTstation what method would you recommend for backing up your system. (floppies,tape,over a network connection) I do not have access to any other NeXT computers in my area. 2. What is the upgrade path for the NeXTstation? It would be nice to just disconnect all the hooks into the mother board and pop in that 50mhz 040 mother board. (when available) 3. Does NeXT plan on releasing a tape storage device for the NeXTstation? If the answer to this question is yes will the O.S. be distributed on tape? I am really close to making a purchase. The NeXT just seems too good a deal to pass up. Thanks for your help, -tw -- * Troy Weingart, 1711 South 11th Ave Apt 611, Bozeman, MT 59715 * * Internet: icsu8116@caesar.cs.montana.edu * * oususatw@msu3.oscs.montana.edu *
rabe@beowulf.acc.stolaf.edu (brett m rabe; Jiffy Script Inc.) (03/15/91)
In article <3654@dali> icsu8116@ming.cs.montana.edu (Weingart) writes: > >2. What is the upgrade path for the NeXTstation? It would be nice to just >disconnect all the hooks into the mother board and pop in that 50mhz 040 >mother board. (when available) When I replaced our NeXTs boards here, they booted saying that the 040 was running at 25mhz. . . so did something get screwed up here, or are you just mistaken? (Just looking for clarity. . . ) > >3. Does NeXT plan on releasing a tape storage device for the NeXTstation? >If the answer to this question is yes will the O.S. be distributed on >tape? This probably isn't the solution that you're looking for, but any system type people may be interested. In complete disregard to what the documentation and man pages say about dumping remotely from NeXT, I was able to rdump to a Digi-Data Corp VCR tape machine (2.5 gig VCR tapes) and had no problem remotely restoring (tested it the next day). The tape drive is hanging off of an aging Vax 11/780 running BSD 4.3 Xinu . . . The man pages on the 2.0 040 16M NeXT that I dumped from specifically state that you cannot rdump to machines other then NeXT. I never tried it under 1.0, so what I'm wondering is: 1) Have the man pages always been wrong? 2) Did I misunderstand the man pages? 3) (If neither of the above) Did it get fixed under 2.0? Thanks for any enlightenment. . . Brett brett michael rabe: Phone-> 507/645-9387 Snailmail: Brett M. Rabe rabe@acc.stolaf.edu 100 N. Lincoln Northfield, MN 55057 USA
statman@oak.circa.ufl.edu (Charles D. Kincaid) (03/15/91)
Hello, In article <3654@dali>, icsu8116@ming.cs.montana.edu (Weingart) writes: >1. For those that have bought the 400mg NeXTstation what method would >you recommend for backing up your system. (floppies,tape,over a network >connection) I do not have access to any other NeXT computers in my area. > Concerned I was too. (That was Yoda talking :-) A very helpful NeXT tech person suggested the following. (Any mistakes in this procedure are mine. Steve Jobs is god, The NeXT is heaven, employees are perfect, and I am a mere mortal. :-` <- that's a half smile.) When you first get your machine do a level 0 dump to device null. This way all of the system software is marked as backed up. If the system software goes it can be gotten back again. It may be a _very_ big hassle, but this is for those of us without mass storage devices. Then the only things that need backed up are your own files which will take up much less space than the entire system. Do regular back ups at, say, level 2 every 2 weeks and level 9 every night. Have I done this? No. I actually do another way. Currently, I am on the UFNet through the department of Statistics. I can NFS mount my machine from our DECStations to a directory in my account (called next). Then when the DEC's do their backup it will follow the mount link over to the next and backup the files there as if they were on the DEC. You might find yourself in a similar situation and if you are in a similar situation then you can try to do the same. > >3. Does NeXT plan on releasing a tape storage device for the NeXTstation? >If the answer to this question is yes will the O.S. be distributed on >tape? > People have posted here that the DAT can be used as a tape storage device. Now I have two reasons for buying one. :-) In a response to this post (clairvoyant?) someone mentioned backing up on a VCR. When I take my NeXT home I could do this if it is actually possible. Any comments on this? >I am really close to making a purchase. The NeXT just seems too good a >deal to pass up. > It's an _amaaaazing_ deal. I (since the first cubes have come out but me with no money :-( ) have been a passionate preacher of the NeXT gospel. People shake their heads and say 'chuck, chuck, chuck'. But I have the last laugh. Once he saw my slab one unbeliever went out and purchased two cubes with grant money. (Jealous am I? You bet! It took me 3 years. :-) Go ahead, buy a NeXT. If you don't like it, I'll take it off your hands. :-) >Thanks for your help, >-tw >-- >* Troy Weingart, 1711 South 11th Ave Apt 611, Bozeman, MT 59715 * >* Internet: icsu8116@caesar.cs.montana.edu * >* oususatw@msu3.oscs.montana.edu * charles d. kincaid statman@sole.stat.ufl.edu <- NeXTmail
bennett@mp.cs.niu.edu (Scott Bennett) (03/16/91)
In article <00945A39.F9EEF580@OAK.CIRCA.UFL.EDU> statman@oak.circa.ufl.edu (Charles D. Kincaid) writes: >Hello, > >In article <3654@dali>, icsu8116@ming.cs.montana.edu (Weingart) writes: >>1. [text deleted --SJB] > > When you first get your machine do a level 0 dump to device null. >This way all of the system software is marked as backed up. If the system Or save yourself some time by putting a record into /etc/dumpdates by hand. BTW, the software doesn't get marked as being backed up. dump(8) records a timestamp for each dump run with 'u' in its key. Later runs of dump(8) compare the "last modified" timestamp of each inode with the entry in /etc/dumpdates for last dump at the same or lower dump level. > [more stuff deleted --SJB] > > Have I done this? No. I actually do another way. Currently, I >am on the UFNet through the department of Statistics. I can NFS mount my >machine from our DECStations to a directory in my account (called next). >Then when the DEC's do their backup it will follow the mount link over >to the next and backup the files there as if they were on the DEC. You >might find yourself in a similar situation and if you are in a similar >situation then you can try to do the same. > Don't bother. This is unlikely to be doing what he thinks it is doing. dump(8) does not cross mount points. dump(8) just dumps whole, individual file systems. The ~/next directory is getting backed up, along with any files that may exist in it *on the DECstation*, but not with any files visible to the user by way of an NFS mount over the directory on the DECstation. dump(8) reads from the raw disk partition to dump the contents of a file system, so it is entirely unaware of any mount points recorded in tables in the kernel or in /etc/mtab. > >> >>3. [more text deleted --SJB] >>-tw >>-- >>* Troy Weingart, 1711 South 11th Ave Apt 611, Bozeman, MT 59715 * >>* Internet: icsu8116@caesar.cs.montana.edu * >>* oususatw@msu3.oscs.montana.edu * > >charles d. kincaid >statman@sole.stat.ufl.edu <- NeXTmail Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG Systems Programming Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois 60115 ********************************************************************** * Internet: bennett@cs.niu.edu * * BITNET: A01SJB1@NIU * *--------------------------------------------------------------------* * "The good news is that Saddam Hussein will be tried for war * * crimes. The bad news is that the case will be heard by the * * Senate Ethics Committee."--quoted in _The_Wall_Street_Journal_ * **********************************************************************