Miscellaneous

Like most people, I have been accumulating personal data over the decades. While some of it is not too important, other pieces are priceless, especially my pictures and videos. Losing those files would be a nightmare. That kept me searching for the ideal backup mechanism for several years. Although I would not dare say I have found the perfect solution, I have learned a lot in the process and can give solid recommendations. Hence this article.

My familiy and me generate data all the time, mostly pictures and videos. I store it all on a PC in my small home network. That PC acts as a file server and, as all servers, needs to be backed up. The mere thought of losing all that information gives me the creeps. After initially copying all data to an external USB drive using an advanced rsync algorithm I switched to a more secure method - at least, that was my plan. Storing data offsite on the internet provides the benefit of not losing priceless photographs and videos when desaster strikes your home. Reading about the online backup service mozy.com, which offers unlimited storage capacity for a mere $ 4.95 per month, I signed up immediately and underwent the painful procedure of uploading roughly 180 GB during several months to mozy. That went relatively well, the client software had only small problems now and then. When all my files were uploaded, I was content. Until I decided to upgrade the hard drive of my home “server” hosting all my data.

Choosing a domain name that will only be visible from an internal network may look simple. Unfortunately, it is not. The basic problem: How to avoid collisions between the internal namespace and the internet?

My New Book is Out: Windows Server 2008 Command Line ReferenceThe command line is a powerful tool. Many a tedious task can be offloaded to a cleverly written script. Scripts and batch files, however, are like tool boxes without too many tools (which relates more to batch files than scripts). To become truly powerful, the boxes must be filled. That is what my reference book is all about.

My colleague Nicholas Dille has started his own blog. Nicholas is a very clever guy whose opinion I value very much. I have often worked and laughed with him in the past couple of years. It has always been both fun and technically challenging. Expect interesting, little-known and well-researched technical content from him.