QOD: Viruses & Raid 1

[Top Nurse]

Greetings most exalted ones!

Was having some erratic problems on my box. AV showed no infection, but the problems were classic virus infection. I decided to do a low-level format and on a whim instituted a RAID 1 configuration instead of my usual RAID 0. I'm using the hw that comes with the A7N8X-Dlx to run RAID.

I think that a virus infecting one member would automatically infect the other as they are a mirrored set right? However, I am wondering if it is automatically mirrored in real time or is it a mirror with xx amount of time delay? If so how long do I got before the infection mirrors onto the other drive?

 

[Snugglebear]

Mirroring protects against hardware failure only. Operations are performed to both drives near simultaneously, usually within 20 milliseconds. If you want to keep your data safe, you need some form of offline backup where the data is backed up at regular intervals, but is inaccessable to the machine the rest of the time. Should the data be critical, consider copying in triplicate and moving one copy offsite.

 

[Top Nurse]

Thanks for the info! How do I do this? I already have the two SATA drives running raid and a 40gb IDE drive partitioned off into to 2 data drives. I keep all my documents and data on these drives.

I have Drive Image 2002, Ghost, and some other stuff, But what would be the best ?

**Forgot to mention that I have DI 2002, DataKeeper, and Image Cast. I also have the Enterprise version of Ghost and the one that comes with NU 2003 Pro**

 

[Snugglebear]

It all depends on what your goal is. If you can't suffer downtime, do regular images of your entire system and data so should something happen you can then just restore to the last backup. If you don't mind some downtime or are restricted in backup space, regularly backup your data and forget the OS & applications. Then there's the area in between where you might want to do occasional full images, and simply backup your data to CD/DVD/tape/Zip/whatever on a regular basis. The possibilities are almost endless, and the sky is the limit as far as cost goes. Like I tell most everyone else, you just need to sit down and outline what the priorities are. There's no good solution until you understand the problem.

 

[Top Nurse]

Well I don't really care about the system disk with its programs, which is why I went to a separate HD for data many moons ago. Imaging RAID arrays seems to be a trifle difficult unless you are willing to pay for the big buck $oftware.

I suppose that imaging the drive on a daily basis would be the best solution. My intent is to ditch my RAID 1 array, add 2 more Raptor drives, and run a RAID 10 array. I will still keep the 40Gb IDE drive as a data drive, but I have been thinking that another IDE drive strictly for disk images might be a cool idea with weekly backups to my DVD.

I seem to remember running PQ Data Keeper at one time for instant data backups. Which of my software programs have the least problems in dealing with a hardware RAID solution? Or are there any such animals in existence?

 

[Snugglebear]

Ghost can usually handle RAID arrays provided you use a RAID controller. Those RAID bioses contain DOS drivers and the array definitions, so ghost can try to work with them. If it was a software/OS RAID array, you'd be pretty stuck.

As for backups, provided you're making regular CD/DVD backups you have minimal coverage. Recovering off a data drive is slightly faster, but takes a bit more work. It's not uncommon to have a drive dedicated for backups that you only mount when doing those backups, so the rest of the time it's inaccessable to the OS and anything lurking there (viri, sleepy or malicious users, etc.).

 

[NerdzRule7]

i had a similar thought a while ago for my raid array. it was a pain to backup, and i didnt want to have any virus infections, and i can see how u feel with raid 1. my solution was to go out a buy a nice 200gb drive. i could move all my necessary files over, then just disconnect the drive when my backup is done. i reconnect it about once a week to do the backup, then take it right back off. Its fast, and easy, and probably price per gb.. pretty cheap. -The_Nerd

 

[Top Nurse]

Ghost can usually handle RAID arrays provided you use a RAID controller. Those RAID bioses contain DOS drivers and the array definitions, so ghost can try to work with them. If it was a software/OS RAID array, you'd be pretty stuck.

I have both the version of Ghost that comes with System Works 2003 Pro and I also happen to have a copy of Ghost Enterprise version 7.

The current RAID hw I have is the Silicon Image Si3112 chip that comes with my ASUS A7N8X-Dlx board. Do you think Ghost will work with this type of hw RAID array? Or do I need to go get me a stand alone controller card?

BTW, how does one go about unmounting a drive and remounting it when you want to do an image? Book, web site, or othewr info appreciated

 

[Lint]

for home use i would just get one of those external hard drives that hook up to usb

hook it up > backup > unplug

easy and you don't have to open up your case every week to plug the drive back in, i dont think it would work with ghost though as dos doesn't support usb (well it might be possible i guess but probably a pain in the ass). now that i think about it some of those drives have a button on them for easy backup (push the button and it backup automaticaly, not sure how well it works though)

the alternatives are CD/DVD (pain in the ass to swap them out imo) or tape drives (expensive) or like another poster said , install a hard drive inside your case and only hook it up when you want to backup (can be a pain in the ass to connect/disconnect depending on your case layout)