[CentOS] Software RAID Level 1, smartd and changing dev numbers

[Brian Mathis]

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 1:41 PM, Robert Heller <heller at deepsoft.com> wrote:
>
> Umm.  It has been stated elsewhere, but RAID is not really a substistute
> for proper backups.
>
[...]
> --
> Robert Heller             -- 978-544-6933 / heller at deepsoft.com
> Deepwoods Software        -- http://www.deepsoft.com/


I know this is the popular thing to say, but it should not be said
blindly.  This case is an example of exactly where it is not
appropriate to say such a thing.  The OP is clearly using the
mirroring ability of RAID1, then breaking the mirror to move the copy
offsite.  In fact, this is exactly an implementation of a "proper
backups".

For further information, when people say "RAID is not backup," they
are referring to the situation where people rely solely on RAID to
cover all aspects of backup.  They simply don't think through all the
scenarios of when you need a backup, such as when files are deleted,
filesystem corruption, fire/flood, virus, etc...  People using RAID
like this don't have tapes, don't have offsites, and rely on all data
sitting within the machine to be safe.  Again, that's clearly not how
it's being used here.