[Discuss] Backing up LVM partitions using snapshots

[blu at nedharvey.com (Edward Ned Harvey)]

> From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org [mailto:discuss-
> bounces+blu=nedharvey.com at blu.org] On Behalf Of
> markw at mohawksoft.com

My advice is:  You've gotten some feedback here, regarding peoples' concerns
and identifying limitations, strengths, and weaknesses.  Now shrug them off,
and move forward under that advisement.  Anything we've discussed that
represents an actual problem, create a way to address those problems.
Anything that doesn't represent a problem, but perhaps an irrational fear,
just prove it wrong in practice.  You don't have to win everybody (in fact,
you can't.)  Just do it well enough that a significant number of people are
pleased witht he result and happy to put it into practice.

I mentioned the limitation of running out of snapshot space.  You said you
can automatically monitor usage and expand on the fly as necessary.  That is
a critical design characteristic of your system, so don't glance over it.
Create a process and/or necessary support scripts so anybody interested in
adopting this system can follow the instructions and rest assured their data
is not at risk.

I mentioned some usage cases where this might be less desirable than the
alternatives.  Although I recommend addressing those directly, of course you
don't have to.  I love the case example of git vs svn.  There are legitimate
pros/cons of each, and areas where svn is the clearly superior solution due
to functionality that doesn't exist in git...  And the same is true
mutually.  But when you read the git manuals and documentation, they're
almost all trashing on svn, reminiscent of penis envy.  You can, if you
want, adopt a mentality similar to this.  "My solution is better than
everyone else and I won't acknowledge anything to the contrary."  It is
common.  You can do it.  But for what it's worth, I encourage a more
balanced representation.