[kwlug-disc] Multi-bay docks ... 1 at a time??? [Was: Re: Linux-compatible eSATA expansion cards]

[unsolicited]

On 14-08-05 01:07 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 5, 2014 at 12:56 PM, unsolicited <unsolicited at swiz.ca> wrote:
>
>> How is the 'snappiness' of a desktop vm run off the dock vs internal drive?
>>
>
> Never tried it. All my real work is done via ssh to a server. No VMs on the
> laptop (except the years old Windows XP for the occasional MS IE tests).
>
> Don't use the dock on the laptop that frequently. Don't want yet another
> cable hanging to a gadget on a laptop that is on my lap.

Understandable.

> Speed is not the only factor here.

It is for the question posed. I agree, not the only question for your 
dock use. Although now that you have a tower, an HD hotswap cage, if 
currently doing USB instead of eSata, would buy you speed - across all 
drives, even. No multi-bay/disk speed problem.

> For the regular daily/weekly backups, the dock allows a disk to be plugged
> and unplugged for offsite rotation.
>
> The network would still need to send things to a machine that has that if
> you are rotating.

Right, for backups, but that wasn't the question. Although it does bring 
up the point that even a vm should be backed up. Be it the vm itself 
(snapshots? which would also need a backup) which means the ~35GB each 
night, or within the vm itself for changes only backups). Back to YAMTM.

> If you are not rotating a physical disk, you could do offsite backup over
> the network to a friend's machine.

Right, but if running a vm over internal net is/n't fast enough, backing 
up over inter-provider links is going to be less so. Never going to get 
2Gps inter-link, at least not at home, that you get within home.

> If you are doing neither, then you
> should.

Different beastie. I've given up on off-site for home, but do run 
mondoarchive (machine/OS) + rsync (data files) on each each night, then 
burp versions across machines. Ending up with current/live, local backup 
copy, next night copy, plus next night copy. If I accidentally delete 
and don't recover within 4 days, my silliness. Rotating off-site with 
today's capacities became a level of aggravation I wasn't willing to 
maintain.