From: kww@cbnews.cb.att.com (kevin.w.wall)
Subject: In search of cheap backups...
Reply-To: kww@cblph.att.com
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 03:01:46 GMT
Followup-To: poster


About a month ago, I purchased a used DECstation 5000/120 from DEC's used
rotational (demo) stock.  (Don't ask about the price; it will just make you
jealous.:-)  This DECstation came equipped with 2 internal SCSI drives
(total of ~ 330MB) and an internal CD-ROM drive.  After configuring the
system and loading all the software, I am now ready to really begin
doing something useful with it, but I'm a bit reluctant to do anything
too serious until I find some mechanism of doing backups.  (Both disks
are too full to use for backups.)

Since this is my new personal toy at home, I am not attached to any
LANs via TCP/IP, DECnet, etc.  Nor do I have a tape drive, floppy drive,
or sufficient free disk space to do backups on.

Because this machine was purchased with my own $$, I don't wish to spend a
bundle just to be able to do backups.  (I.e., I would like something as
cheap as possible; the standard solution of a new TK50Z in an expansion
box purchased from Digital is out of the question.)

My friend who works at DEC suggested I look into buying a used and/or
refurbished tape drive or floppy drive.  However, either solution
would have to be contained in an expansion box; with 2 internal SCSI
disks and that CD-ROM drive, there isn't a whole lot of room left
inside.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any companies that sell either used
and/or refurbished tape drives or floppy drives for the DECstation 5000?
(I didn't see advertisements for any when I perused a few copies of old
DEC trade magazines.)

Unlike the PERSONAL DECstation models, the DS/5000 has no internal floppy
controller, so apparently I would have to use a floppy drive with a SCSI
controller (which is a lot more expensive no doubt).  I'm beginning to
think that the cheapest backup solution is to by a cheap PC with a 100MB
or so drive and then do backups over the RS232C serial ports from the
workstation to the PC.  Since I only want to back up the user files (and
not the things I can reload from the Ultrix CD), probably a 100MB drive
will suffice.

Of course, buying a tape or floppy drive has the additional value of getting
files on/off my machine.  My only alternative right now is to use a modem.

Anyone out there have any good ideas about doing backups, etc.  I'd say that
I'd like to keep the cost as low as possible, since it would be rather hard
to justify spending more for doing backups than I did on the whole system.
If that means buying a third-party solution or used/rebuilt peripherals,
then so be it.  I'd even be will to write a device driver if I had to.
(I've written one for a AT&T 3B2 long ago and have had a lot of SVR? kernel
experience so if Ultrix isn't TOO different, I could probably do it,
although this certainly wouldn't be my preference.  I'd rather be able
to use an existing device driver.)

Anyway, I'd be interested in hearing any other proposals from those out
in USENET-land.  E-mail to me is preferrable, but if you'd rather
respond via a followup article, then be my guest.

Thanks in advance,

In person: Kevin W. Wall			AT&T Bell Laboratories
Usenet/UUCP: {att!}cblph!kww			6200 E. Broad St.
Internet: kww@cblph.att.com			Columbus, Oh. 43213

	"In actual experience (in particular, before breakfast)
	multiplication tends to be non-communtative." -- W. Fuller