Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Nov-2006 13:52:01 EST

CD/DVD Burning in the CSB Core

For the Rimage DVD-burning robot, see http://www.csb.yale.edu/userguides/sysresource/offline/rimage/

Much of the online data in the CSB Core is regularly backed up and archived by the staff. However, there are a number of instances in which you may need to use backup media:

• Your data is on a filesystem that is not part of the CSB backup schedule (eg, /srv/frames or /srv/temp).
• You want an archive copy.
• You need to import/export data from/to another site.

CD/DVD Devices and media

Tape is still the cheapest alternative for large-capacity, semi-archival storage. The half-life of most tape media is about 5-10 years. However, CDs and DVDs have become steadily less expensive per megabyte, are easy to create archives on, and provide easier selective access to their contents.

The Linux workstation loon in the graphics room has an internal CD writer and an external DVD writer. The workstations emperor and pelican have internal DVD writers. DVD writers can also create CDs. At the command line, simply type "burncd" or "burndvd" to start up the graphical user interface for CD/DVD creation. If you need a DVD writer moved to another Linux workstation, please inquire of the Core staff, who should be able to move the DVD writer from loon. Please do not attempt to move the external drive yourself. NOTE: You should not mount the CD or DVD prior to burning. To access the contents, use "mount /mnt/cdrom" or "mount /mnt/dvd" depending on the format. Contact the Core staff when this inevitably fails to work on the computer you're sitting at.

All of the Core Windows PCs have CD-RW drives. In addition, rigger has a DVD writer. There is Roxio software available on all of the Windows computers for burning CDs or DVDs. Remember to create a "Data CD" (or DVD) for archiving purposes. Also note that, with few exceptions, CDs and DVDs created on the Windows computers cannot be read on a Linux computer without Core staff intervention. Note, however, that CDs/DVDs created for you at Berkeley can usually be read anywhere.

Linux is generally more desirable for two reasons:

1. The resulting DVD can usually be read on any computer
2. Files are usually backed up over the network (e.g., from /srv/frames), and Linux can read and write Core network disks faster than Windows can.

To summarize:

Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Nov-2006 13:52:01 EST