# Jerry -- Why do a daily backup? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [August 7, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282 "2001-08-07T14:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/1 "2001-08-07T14:47:56Z")
In the “I hate to complain, but…” thread that was locked – jdavis posted this: > [@](#): > > Most nights the board is performing a backup to a LAN tape drive between 03:30 to about 06:00. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, sometimes the automated process fubars and we have to run it in the middle of the day. It’s a big backup and it negatively effects performance. I’m just curious here, but I wonder why you perform a daily backup when it seems that a days worth of posts are certainly not critical to the day-to-day continuance of the SDMB. I can understand a backing up to a tape drive periodically, But I just don’t know I see the point of a daily one. Maybe a weekly one? Or, maybe, let the automated backup run in the wee hours of the morning, but if it FUBARs … why not just wait and run one the next night instead of sucking limited db resources during a busy time? And please don’t take this as bashing or complaining. I am genuinely curious. Oh, and BTW – keep up the good work. The board has been running great for me as of late. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2001, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/2 "2001-08-07T16:44:32Z")
I do a daily backup primarily because I would get grief if I didn’t. Think of it as an essentially selfish motive designed to keep my emotional health high and my stress levels low. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/3 "2001-08-08T14:52:32Z")
The question is, is it working? ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/4 "2001-08-08T15:34:33Z")
After a restart of the SDMB on Saturday afternoon the automated backups are working as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/5 "2001-08-08T17:02:55Z")
Also because if he didn’t do a daily backup, he’d lose his membership in the Ancient and Honored Fraternal Order of Paranoid Sysadmins. It’s right up there in the initiation oaths, along with “I Shall Not Use Dictionary Words in My Passwords” and “I Shall Not Open or Install Unsolicited E-mail Attachments, Nor Allow Others to do the Same on my System”. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/6 "2001-08-09T12:20:28Z")
_gives Chronos the secret handshake_ ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/7 "2001-08-09T17:20:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jdavis \* > \*\*_gives Chronos the secret handshake_ \*\* uh-oh. You gave the secret handshake on a public message board?? jeeeeeeeeerie’s in trooooooooouble. Don’t you know that by clicking on the ‘quote’ link, as I’ve just done, I’m privy to the deep innermost secrets of the Sysadmin world??? and I ::hears sound over shoulder:: what?!?! WHO!?!?! No, I was just kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiding! ::crickets chirping:: ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/8 "2001-08-09T19:14:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Also because if he didn’t do a daily backup, he’d lose his membership in the Ancient and Honored Fraternal Order of Paranoid Sysadmins. It’s right up there in the initiation oaths, along with “I Shall Not Use Dictionary Words in My Passwords” and “I Shall Not Open or Install Unsolicited E-mail Attachments, Nor Allow Others to do the Same on my System”. \*\* Don’t forget: - Thou shalt not use hyphens as the first character of filenames, for they are a pain in the ass to delete. - Thou shalt not use Telnet, for Telnet has no soul and will barter your secrets to thieves and scoundrels. Use ssh instead. - Thou shalt not filter pings at the firewall, for it is commanded in some obscure RFC that you do not. - Right. What was your username again? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/9 "2001-08-11T03:58:13Z")
I strongly suspect that _this_ question has been answered to everyone’s sastisfaction. . . . . _(Now, when do we move to hourly backups?)_ ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/10 "2001-08-11T04:10:23Z")
I hope no one bitches about nightly backups again 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/11 "2001-08-11T04:18:19Z")
I’m a sysadmin working with database software, and trust me, nightly automated backups are a Good Thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mercutio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Mercutio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mercutio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/12 "2001-08-11T04:22:40Z")
this is why we protect things? **mouthy** , I’m sure you’re no longer complaning 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/13 "2001-08-11T06:44:27Z")
Oh, the irony!! ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/14 "2001-08-11T07:07:28Z")
Well, even though this has been answered, it is standard procedure for all IT persons to ensure they have a nightly backup…even for the most mundane servers. Most people can get away without a board like the SD…but as Jerry stated, people would be highly pissed if he could only back up from a month ago of posts, even a week’s loss of posts here would create havoc. Not to mention the fact that it’s standard procedure. It’s aharmless and best practice for all IT people to do along with regular testing to ensure the back up is actually working. You’d be amazed at how many crappy back ups you can get even if you think they are perfect. If you don’t care about your own data, cool, but remember the next time your system goes down and you lost a buttload of data. I find the hack to be lame but glad that they had their back up. Without a back up you might as well sink a server in the bottom of a lake. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/15 "2001-08-11T16:10:00Z")
Well, this is the first time in my near 2 years here that I can remember that we have reverted back to a saved db copy. It may have happened before, but I don’t remember it. To everyone saying “This is exactly why…”, I dunno… It still seems to me that if it means taking away from daily limited db resources, I’d prefer the missing week of posts in the rare instances where we are forced to roll back. And to all those saying “This is what you do in IT…” – my job is working with internet software and databases. So I do know a little bit about what I am talking about. I know that daily backups are a good thing, if losing data from 2 or more days back would cause severe impact to your business. I still maintain that losing a weeks worth of posts here would not kill anybody, and especially since we’ve all seen the performance problems we can sometimes have here. Admins, as with my OP, please don’t take this as bashing – Just my 2¢ in a friendly discussion. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/16 "2001-08-11T16:19:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by techchick68 \* > \*\*Without a back up you might as well sink a server in the bottom of a lake. \*\* :rolleyes: Please show me where I suggested we not run backups. ---
**Author:** ![Freedom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freedom)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/17 "2001-08-11T17:33:24Z")
> [@](#): > > I still maintain that losing a weeks worth of posts here would not kill anybody, Judging from my reaction to the days worth of posts I lost… a week MIGHT kill me:) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/18 "2001-08-11T23:14:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Smeghead \* > \*\*Oh, the irony!! \*\* Yes, quite a … _coincidence_, wouldn’t you say? Rather… _convenient_ how not only did this allow Jerry to earn accolades for his quick response, but also to defend himself against concerns that he was being overzealous. Hold on, I have to go now. There are a bunch of men in dark suits waiting outside my door. I wonder what they could want? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/19 "2001-08-12T02:12:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Please show me where I suggested we not run backups. Jeez, calm down. She never said that you suggested that. She used her metaphor simply to show that, yes, it’s important to backup every day. ---
**Author:** ![techchick68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@techchick68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/techchick68)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282/20 "2001-08-12T04:34:39Z")
Thank you kindly Spoofely m’dear… mouthbreather, I didn’t know you had any background in the IT business therefore I posted with the information I felt important…and Spoofe was right, it was a metaphore to give credence to my post. I realize that the SDMB is not paramount to The Chicago Reader’s business but it is an important part of their connection to thousands of people here. Could they easily get away without a nightly back up? Sure…does it make sense? No. Why? Because the SDMB reaches a lot of people who want to be in the know. Because, so I like to think, that the Chicago Reader cares about it’s visitors and wants to continue that relationship. A daily backup takes very little time, very little effort (knowing my backups) and is a relatively minor issue. Oh and look, when the boards were hacked it was easy for Jerry to back the boards up and get us up and running with very little loss of data. That I am sure, many here appreciate very much. The same goes for other message boards around the net. Most message boards are free but responsible owners of message boards do what they can to ensure their site stays continuous as possible and a community that is secure. Without that, why bother having a message board? Okee, I’m done. \< picking her shorts out of her butt now \> [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jerry-why-do-a-daily-backup/75282.md?page=2)