[plug] Backing up to DVD

[Lee de Byl]

Hi,
This is my first post to the PLUG list, so if I show my ignorance, please
excuse me.

I'm trying to implement a routine backup system for my home network,
using
DVD as the medium. I'm using a LG 4082B DVD burner, supporting DVD+R(W),
DVD-R(W) and DVD-RAM. It's installed in a machine running a 2.4 kernel,
which has NOT been patched for packet writing or UDF writing.

I'm planning on using tar to do incremental backups, and I want to avoid
having to create intermediate files on the hard drive (tars and ISOs)
- ie
writing directly to the media.

So far I've been able to:
Write to DVD-R by
   - creating the tar file
   - creating the iso file
   - burning the iso file using dvdrecord

Write to DVD-RAM by
   - mke2fs /dev/cdrom
   - mount -t ext2 /dev/cdrom /cdrom
   - tar -cvzf /cdrom/backup.tgz /some/files

Write to DVD+RW by
   - creating tar file
   - using growisofs for DVD+RW-tools to write the tar to the disc
   OR
   - mke2fs /dev/cdrom
   - mount -t ext2 /dev/cdrom /cdrom
   - tar -cvzf /cdrom/backup.tgz /some/files
   OR
   Treat the DVD as a "stream device" without a filesystem, similar to
   a tape drive
   - tar -cvzf /dev/cdrom /some/files
 
Can someone tell me what the best method for doing this is, in terms
of reliability and compatability with other DVD-ROM drives. The
backups are not intended to only be used in the case of data loss or
hardware failure, so being able to easily retrieve a particular file
is not important. Additionally the backups don't need to be readable
on other OSs - I would prefer not to use ISO 9660 or UDF.

There seems to be a lot of contradictory and incomplete information on
the web (surprise), so I'm hoping for some clarification.

Thanks for your help,
Lee

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