On 08/24/2015 06:17 AM, John Rowe wrote:
>> 1)  I have to have my backup sata drives removed to boot.
>>       SL7 tries to mount them as my 9750-4I raid controller
>>       and freezes up.  After booting up I can insert the
>>       eSata drive(s).  And do you think I would remember?
>>       In other words. I have top boot up twice.
>
> I would strongly suggest that a "backup" drive permanently connected to
> the computer is not a backup at all. In no particular order it leaves
> you vulnerable to:
>
> Accidental deletion
> Malicious deletion/encryption
> Fire
> Theft
>
> I know that sometimes this is much easier to point out than to fix (I
> sense the word "cloud" appearing..)
>
> John
>

Hi John,

You missed the "e" in the eSata.  Stands for "external"
or "removable".  The way I work it is to have several eSata
drives in rotation, typically 5 to 14 drives and typically
stored in a firesafe.  The latest is stored off site.  And
they are typically LUKS encrypted. First thing in the
morning, the drives are rotated and last night's
drive goes to someone's car.  The drives are not mounted,
except during backup.  They do not even appear in fstab.

On my system, I also do not mount my eSata drives at
boot or have them in fstab (I have tried it both ways
to see if there is a pattern, there is not).

The problem, which I will be reporting to Red Hat sometime
today, will affect any system that uses a RAID controller
and additional Sata drives for whatever reason -- additional
storage, for instance.

Be careful. The "Cloud" is marketing "weasel speak" for
"client / server" with a really, really crappy, unreliable
connection between the two.

And "Cloud" backup makes my skin crawl.  You have to take
everything for granted that the vendor purports, as in is
your data really encrypted and safe from prying eyes,
employees or otherwise, not to mention and what happens
to your data when they "fly-by-night".  And when do your
backups stop actually backing up?  I have had a former
customer burned by this really badly.

In my opinion, everything that works well in the "Cloud",
eMail for instance, has pretty much already been done.
As far as I can tell, software vendors are pushing for
it because it gives them a better more consistent revenue
stream (no worries about a customer not renewing their
tech support contract).  Most of the time it is not a better
deal than hosting your own local server.  Everyone
that loves wine knows that you can buy a whole bottle of wine
to consume at your home for the price of a glass at
a restaurant.  The "Cloud" is not so much about taking care
of the customer as it is taking care of the vendor.

I have three customers using Point of Sale software.  The
vendors are trying to push them into the "Cloud".  So far
my customers laugh at them.  The Internet is down
on a weekly basis around these parts and some places
several time a day.  Good luck trying to sell a merchandise
to a customer when you have to wait an hour to several
days for your Internet connection to come back up.
Sort of makes you long for the days of a simple cash register.

My two cents.

-T