Re: [rdiff-backup-users] Restarting development ... or starting over

[Nicolas Jungers]

On 04/06/2010 02:34 PM, Daniel Miller wrote:
> > > I wasn't really prepared to make this announcement so soon, but
> > > now seems like a good time to let the community know. I've been
> > > working on a new implementation of rdiff-backup since about a
> > > month ago when
> >
> > [snip]
> >
> > I'm not a coder... [snip]
> >
> > Now, on top of that I'd like to have all the fanciness present in
> > all the other programs, particularly a SQL backend for the metadata
> > storage...
>
> Out of curiosity, if you're not a coder what do you plan to do with a
> SQL backend?

I used Bacula for a while and the possibilities of the SQL backend 
seduced me.

Anyway, decoupling the content and all the metadatas including storage 
path, slicing, encryption, checksum really appeals to me.  So it's not 
really the SQL backend that I want, but the ability to query the 
repository with the needed criterion, even to simply shows management 
what the backup systems does.

Now my use of rdiff-backup is in no way limited by space but by 
bandwidth, I do two remote copies of the repository in addition to the 
local one.

> I actually considered using SQLite as a backend for storing metadata,
> but I just couldn't justify it since rdiff-backup would have no real
> benefit from the features of SQL (complex queries, joins, etc.). The
> only real benefit would be simpler random-access (for restoring
> selected files, for example). However, random access in a database
> either requires an index, which takes extra HDD space, or it involves
> a sequential scan, which is exactly what rdiff-backup already does.
> Why add another layer of complexity if it's not needed? It would
> likely just slow things down and add bloat to the repository. Having
> said all that, I did write the new version with a well-defined
> "database" interface, which means other backends (possibly MongoDB)
> could be added without affecting the frontend.

Out of curiosity, is your code accessible and usable?

Nicolas