Best Backup Server Option For University TV Station?

idk07002 writes 'I have been tasked with building an offsite backup server for my university's television station to back up our Final Cut Pro Server and our in-office file server (a Drobo), in case the studio spontaneously combusts. Total capacity between these two systems is ~12TB. Not at all full yet, but we would like the system to have the same capacity so that we can get maximum life out of it. It looks like it would be possible to get rack space somewhere on campus with Gigabit Ethernet and possibly fiber coming into our office. Would a Linux box with rsync work? What is the sweet spot between value and longevity? What solution would you use?'

Comments

Done to death.

[Zlurg]

Holy crap we're approaching the need for an Ask Slashdot FAQ. I feel old.

Re:Done to death.

[neiras]

I feel old.

Well, your UID makes you older than me.

I SAID, YOUR UID MAKES YOU OLDER THAN ME.

Also, my name is NOT "sonny boy", and this is my lawn, not yours. Where do you think you are, old timer?

Re:Done to death.

[Barny]

/me loads his shotgun and squints

Just walk away kid, real slow, and keep your hands where I can see em

Re:Done to death.

[ndege]

What? Can't hear ya...you gotta speak up!

Re:Done to death.

[ge]

Calm down, grandpa....

Re:Done to death.

[Leto-II]

Young kids these days and their rock music... Deaf at such an early age.

Re:Done to death.

[herbman]

Young kids these days and their rock music... Deaf at such an early age.

excuse me?

Re:Done to death.

[Anonymous Coward]

Young kids these days and their funny notions them there colored folk are the same as us

The thread about gene therapy for color blind monkeys is in another posting, not this one.

Automatic internet backup

[Len]

Everything your TV station broadcasts will automatically be backed up here.

Re:Automatic internet backup

[Kjella]

[3 months later]:
<admin@uni> OMG we lost the server... 0 seeds!? somebody seed plz!

Best solution for backup hands-down is...

[macraig]

... BitTorrent pirates. You'll always find last night's shows backed-up on TPB the next morning. Yaaarrr!

Here's an effective cost-reduction strategy.

[failedlogic]

Have each student create their "own TV station" as part of their degree requirement - no matter the area of study. Similar to research essays, you'll get the following results: 1) students who completed the assignment with no outside assistance 2) students that copied certain small portions of the data you are backing up and presenting it as their own 3) students that plagiarize everything - yes some students will debate that the same content the TV station has accumulated over the years - all 12 TB - is actually their original work.

As this data appears on the University network, the entire TV station will be backed-up in a local "Cloud". And if these types of assignment become popular at other universities, you can expect to find redundant off-site backups. By this point, the 12 TB will appear on BitTorrent (and probably on Newsgroups and IRC for the dedicated plagiarists). A full restore will only take a few days - as long as the full 12 TB is seeded.

Re:Here's an effective cost-reduction strategy.

[Shinobi]

"3) students that plagiarize everything - yes some students will debate that the same content the TV station has accumulated over the years - all 12 TB - is actually their original work."

And then you can also flag future FSF cultists. Win-win. ;)