Article:		Automated Backups on Tiger Using rsync
Subject:		A potential problem
Date:		2005-08-04 09:58:49
From:		EdHagen
Here is a potential problem with this strategy: If your backup drive is disconnected, then rsync will create a folder on your main drive and copy all the files to that. This can use up all your drive space, causing all kinds of problems. One way to avoid this problem is to save the backup script on the backup drive. That way it can't run if the drive is disconnected. Another strategy would be to add some applescript or shellscript to detect if the drive is connected before running rsync.

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• a solution
  2005-08-04 15:44:03  garbanzito [View]
  
  
  i use a nice script called rsyncbackup that covers this problem and more; the documentation at http://rsyncbackup.erlang.no/ covers the details, but essentially, the rsyncbackup user can define a test that must be satisfied before proceeding; i use traceroute to server as my test; rsyncbackup also allows setting default parameters, defining named backup sources & destinations, mailing of error logs, etc.; i use it with the RsyncX version of rsync on Panther with great success
  
  for scheduling, i would consider anacron as well as iCal