Sponsored By
Efika 5200B Project
EFIKA Tiny Backup Systemin category Applications & Software
proposed by Chain-Q on 30th January 2006 (accepted on 10th February 2006)
Project Summary
This project aims to create a tiny backup system, based on the EFIKA board. Usually, today's backup systems are huge and costs a lot. They also need big UPS's, and properly built infrastructure. But SOHO applications sometimes need tiny, and cheap backup boxes, sometimes at other location where the office is, for more data safety. This other location usually can't give all the infrastructure such a big backup box requires.To solve this problem, the EFIKA board could be put into a tiny case, together with a DVD-RW drive, and a HDD, to form such a remotely accessible, backup system. The operating system should be a highly customized Linux distribution, tuned for the job, with additional software developed to tie the system together. The possible features include:
- data uploading through the optical drive, USB pendrive, and through network (SMB, NFS, sftp, etc), possibly others
- optional data encryption mechanism
- support for various authentication mechanism (from an USB hardware key to simple password protection)
- support for more users, and user quotas
- scheduled backups
- optional web interface to control the operation, create users, burn backup DVD's from the stored data, etc
- optional control console on the serial port
- could support offline operation, with scheduled dialup/callback mechanisms
- optional e-mail notification, reporting or control system
- optional wireless operation
Casing of such a system could vary from 1U rackmountable style to little cube which lives happily next to a desktop PC, or industrial style box could be fitted on a wall, below a desk, or any possible location. Additional idea includes to have a portable case, thus creating an ideal portable data storage system, which could be used to collect data from various instruments without constant network connection.
This project aims to create the software side of this system. The software must be configurable, and pluginable to easily include other features on request. It should be written with compatibility in mind with other hardware, like the ODW.
Project Blog Entries
