Ask Slashdot: Heterogeneous Network Backups w/Linux?

drix asks: "Like many I'm running a Linux gateway between my home network and cable internet connection. Naturally, I'd like it if my Linux server, 4 Win 98 boxes, and iMac could do a nightly backup. The problem is I only have one tape drive, which is, of course, situated in the server. So my question is what software exists that, a) runs on Linux, b) exists in a client server form, where the server runs a "backup daemon" that each client connects to to backup its respective hard disk each night, and c) has clients available for Windows and optionally Mac? I guess the analogous NT ware would be Seagate Backup Exec, which runs on an NT server and polls NT workstations nightly for any changed files, and then uses delta file compression to zip those changes to the server's tape drive. I don't need anything that complicated, but I must have the basic ability to move the files."

Comments

backup programs for Linux

[Anonymous Coward]

I cover several, the ones I liked are:
Backups
http://www.amnda.org/ - Amanda
ftp://ftp.zn-gmbh.com/pub/linux/ - afbackup
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~jmelski/burt/ - Burt
http://www.estinc.com/features.html - BRU
http://www.estinc.com/qsdr.html - Quickstart
http://www.unitrends.com/bp.html - Backup Professional
http://www.unitrends.com/ctar.html - CTAR
http://www.unitrends.com/ctarnet.html - CTAR:NET
http://www.unitrends.com/pcpara.html - PC ParaChute
Commercial:
http://www.arkeia.com/ - Arkeia
http://www.legato.com/Products/html/legato_netwo rker.html - Legato Networker Linux client
http://feral.com/networker.html - Legato Networker server

Now not all handle multiple OS's, etc. But of the freeones it was afbackup or amanda (or both) that did.

good luck.

http://www.seifried.org/lasg/

Redefine the problem

[coyote-san]

One approach is to redefine the problem. This approach will take some time, but you may find it worthwhile.

Instead of asking how your Linux server can back up Windows and Mac clients, why not ask how much you can move from your Windows and Mac systems to the Linux server?!

After my Windows system crashed yet again, I reinstalled the system (which, thanks to Toshiba, formats the disk so I lose any files which survived the crash) I set it up to use a network login - my "profile" and personal files are stored on my Linux system in an ext2 partition... and are backed up nightly. Likewise, I reinstalled all of my applications to a SAMBA "network" drive. I then changed the permissions so most of the files were read-only - no more Word viruses.

This isn't perfect, but I'm a lot more comfortable with my Window system mounting network drives from my Linux box than my Linux box trying to SMBMOUNT the Windows system for backups.

P.S., I use Amanda.