RE: the whoops! and off site tape storage

I really like the off-site service - this is the first job that we have not 
used it, and I am negotiating to get it started up here.


"Mark A. Manske" <mmanske@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

> It is policy in an emergency to grab the box, or risk having your legs 
> and arms amputated (well, ok, just slapped up side the head ;)

I concur with Walden; once the fire alarm rings, it is too much to ask that 
people be concerned with other than their own safety and the emergency escape 
procedures.

>> We also keep "forever" year-end back ups, two sets, one on-site, 
>> and one off-site.

Good call with the two year-end backups.

>> We are not using a service to place these, the VP is keeping them at his 
>> residence.

What happens if he is caught up in the emergency?


"Jerry" started the discussion be writing . . .

>> We send them out every AM and I'm finding that it would be convenient to
>> have a tape on site to restore a "whoops!" file (one that got whacked in 
>> error by
>> an embarrased pgmr).  It costs us $300 to retrieve a tape and takes 2 hours.
.. . .
>> Are others sending tapes off immediately or waiting a day or so?

Waiting a day or so seems to be courting a disaster.  If you have some disk 
space, an elegant solution could be to save the key libraries to *SAVF before 
doing the backup to tape.  This could also reduce the downtime if that is an 
issue.

Also, Why does a programmer have the access to "whack" a file so critical that 
waiting 2 hours is a problem?  Are important files getting "whacked" often?  If 
the files aren't that critical, perhaps you could order the tape for next day 
delivery, which is typically cheap since they are coming anyway.

Good luck!