Re: Hard disk mirroring for XP?

From: Michael Stevens (mstevens_at_bogusmvps.org)
Date: 11/03/04 

Date: Tue, 2 Nov 2004 18:33:47 -0800

Ken Blake wrote:
> In news:284C23F5-B84F-4E69-B6D5-E7D558257BB2@microsoft.com,
> Bryan <Bryan@discussions.microsoft.com> typed:
>
>> I have a critical XP machine I need to maintain a constant
>> backup of.
>> The machine has two identical drives. One is currently being
>> used.
>> The other is planned for a backup. Is there an equivalent to
>> "mirroring" for XP?
>> If not, I am open to suggestions. TIA
>
>
> Mirroring is a technique used for situations in which downtime
> can't be tolerated--if one drive fails, the other takes over
> seamlessly. It is not the same as backup, and shouldn't be
> thought of as backup.
>
> The problem with using a mirror drive as backup is that, because
> it permanently resides in the same box as the original, and is a
> mirror of everything that happens to it, it is highly likely that
> anything other than a simple head crash that clobbers the main
> drive will also get the mirror. That includes things like virus
> attacks, user errors, severe power glitches such as nearby
> lightning strikes, theft of the computer, etc.
>
> If this is truly a critical machine, you should consider having a
> backup that is made regularly and stored externally to the
> computer itself. If it's *really* critical (for example ,if the
> life of your business depends on it), consider having multiple
> generations of backup and storing at least one generation
> off-site.
>
> You can also mirror if you need to, but don't let it be a
> substitute for backup.

Ken,
Very well explained, and to Bryan, you would need special hardware i.e. raid
or software to create the mirror drives. 

-- 
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
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