Hi,

I am a newbi and I will have 2 dedicated servers and I was wandering can I use rsync and ssh to make a backup of each server on the other server and if I did this would I still need a tape backup and how would I do it? Or is there another method that I can use for backing up stuff since I will have 2 servers that would make it so I did not need a tape backup?

Thanks in advance!!

It is possible to have a back up of one on the other and vice-a-versa.
The best solution for you is to use scp.
Both servers must have SSH enabled then you can use scp for the copy.
scp also compresses the files and the transfer is secure.

Have a great day :)

regards
amar

Just be cautious of your transfer totals. Unless you have 2 NICs in the servers, you will have to use the switch, the same one that measures your incoming/outgoing traffic, and you will be charged for the transfers (both ways). If the servers are in different facilities, you will have this regardless, but if they are in the same NOC, you should invest in an extra NIC (if your servers have the room) for each server and utilize them for backup purposes so you do not incur the cost.

Awhile back, I learnt about using a separate server to backup a server, and there is a script for it. Is it rsync? I still remember that script starts with "r". :D

The best solution for you is to use scp

Just curious why scp would be better than rsync. After the initial setup, rsync only transferrs the diff between files... = lower BW usage. Also it is easily configured to use ssh as a tunnel.

Thanks for your help. WHat is scp? If I used this method, would I still need a tape back?

rsync is the best option since its made for backups and to keep two or more systems in sync. It'll only transfer files that have been changed since the last sync.

scp is awful if your using it on a system with a lot of traffic. SCP stands for secure copy. It sends files over a ssh tunnel to another machine. That'll send everything.. not just the files that have changed. You don't want to be doing unneeded I/O on a webserver.