Database Backup Politics;

Those who need permission for better backups or backup schedules may employ the following true story for bureaucratic allegory.

In 1989 the cutting edge hard drives of the day were characterized by a qualified HDD QA engineer in the following manner:

If you took one of THESE drives and blew it up the size of the earth, the read/write head could effectively be compared to a 747 flying along at 500 miles an hour... (pause for effect) 10 feet off the Ground!

This should justify your needed attentions to backups in scheduling and placement - off-site for fires and catastrophe is the rule. IF you are in an essential service, THEN have an identical model unit elsewhere, with treaty type unbreakable contract to prioritize processing in time of imported Live Free or Die Hard type "fire sale."

Priceless Mirrored RAID configurations are considered the world unapproachable best for terra-byte databases. I don't know what mirroring requires regarding data transfer rates, but a small conventional bomb would "take care" of MOST of these emplacements. 6280 BPI tapes make a serviceable alternative for those with real concerns. Know that the curvature of the earth is what indemnifies the entire internet against the EM pulse of a nuclear device, and make off site arrangements accordingly. Relational databases compete with turtles and tortoises for Olympic speed of backing up. Curse the dark at leisure, and light candle database choices accordingly. Don't ask for your tapes back; test them for read integrity if you are serious, and then save them - corrupting a backup system in advance of destroying your plant is an available strategy.

Know the terms "Incremental Backup" and "Batch Backup," and appear knowledgeable accordingly. If responsible for results, experiment with incremental restores as necessary. I do this between wars and pandemic contagions, for a comparative experience on "Ivan, it could be worse."

Relational databases Should STILL be regarded as indispensable for real-time queries - Google News Archive is a batch system - you cannot vary number of fields and content; this estimator by itself still does not guarantee that the database is fixed width - exigencies lead database creators, authors and managers to economize overhead in money, time and CPU seconds for this reason; a good measuring stick for asking the impossible is access time, speed, latency and/or data transfer rate.

I appear paranoid or compulsive about backups accordingly. My best critics occasionally tease that I am not paranoid enough - they have my best interest at heart :-)

For a reality check, a billiard ball blown up to the size of the earth has peaks higher than Everest, and chasms as deep as sea floor trenches, all over the place - if the drive surface is THAT smooth, I'm impressed, not fearful. Bearings and wobble are the main concern; dust or dirt causes early catastrophic failure.