Protect Your Data through Software Mirroring

Protect Your Data through Software Mirroring * Mirroring is the automated process of writing data to two drives simultaneously. Mirroring is used to provide redundancy.
* If one drive fails, the redundant drive will continue to store the data and provide access to it. The failed drive can then be replaced and the drive set can be re-mirrored.
* This is quick HOW-TO setup your mirroring with two exactly the same hard disks. It assumes you're building a new system from scratch, and setup mirroring at install time. But let's get something straight first: Software mirroring does not mirror the disks - it mirrors partitions. Thanks to Ed Wilts from Redhat General Newsgroups for this remark. So in this guide I'll show you how to setup your partitions on one disk and mirror them to another. After that, we will learn how to rebuild our mirrored partitions after one disk dies.
Why Software Mirroring is Required?
Mirroring is an easy way of protecting the data, from beeing lost from disk crash. For example, If you keep your private stuff on one partition you can mirror this partition to another on the second drive, and if one disk fails, you will not lose your data, since you have the exact same copy of your files on the second disk. The same goes for the whole filesystem. If you setup mirroring correct, you might never have to reinstall your system again.
Software Mirroring vs. Hardware Mirroring
* Disk mirroring can be implemented entirely in software. Software mirroring can be less expensive, but it is also slower. Software mirroring requires the host computer to write the mirrored data twice.
* Disk mirroring can be implemented in hardware on the host I/O controller. The burden of writing each bit of data twice is placed upon the I/O controller, which is specifically designed for it.
* Disk mirroring can also be implemented in hardware on an external storage device, such as a RAID array. In this case, mirroring is completely removed from the hosts responsibility
Benefits of Software Mirroring

* Data is backed up as changes are made keeping the backup copy current.

* Immediate access of an up-to-date remote data backup in case of local server failure.

* Rapid disk to disk data recovery from the central server to remote server.

* When data is restored, data loss is reduced to a minimum.

* Continuous real-time disk to disk backup operation minimizes impact on network performance.

* Backup windows all but eliminated.

* Provides 24X7 data availability and disaster recovery.

Why Do We Call Software, Software?

The word "software" has actually been in use for decades before the invention of the computer - it was actually coined in 1851 in the cotton and wool mills of North West England to describe clothing and cloth which had a superior finish - it was quite literally soft wear.
The modern source of the term, "software", dates back to 1960 and was used to describe the programs which were run on a computer, itself termed "hardware".
Hardware was a term borrowed from the tools, plant and machinery vendors who referred to their goods as "hardware", as in the hardware store - a popular term used widely in society those perhaps less today. In the pre-computer era, hardware was more likely to be used to refer to a hammer or circular saw than an electronic gadget.
The first use of hardware as it applies to computers and peripherals is thought to have originated from the NASA rocket development teams who designed, built and tested the rockets and systems which would one day take men to the moon. Software was used a natural distinguishing term to separate the essential differences between the tangible, physical electronics and the programs and applications designed to operate upon them.
The term "software engineer" was instituted at NASA as well, and this designation spread throughout the military and scientific community in North America and from there to the rest of the world. The term software was also used to impose a feeling of inferiority upon programmers - it was not a badge of honor or respect when it was initially used. At this time in the fast but very new development of the computer, the hardware was considered to be much more important and far more valuable than the programs which would run on them.
Companies such as IBM built themselves into huge conglomerates based solely on the value they saw in the hardware they were manufacturing. It took a visionary geek, who had dropped out of Harvard. to see the error in this way of thinking, and he along with some of his close friends managed the deal of the millennium - his name is Bill Gates.
Microsoft was founded as a software house and the big break for the company came when IBM negotiated to use Microsoft's Disk Operating System (DOS) on its machines. During the meeting which sealed the deal, Gates asked if his company could retain ownership of the software, and IBM readily agreed - they saw no value in it, indeed, at this time you couldn't even obtain a patent for software of any description (the US Supreme Court did not rule that software could be patented until 1981).
Microsoft went on to market DOS worldwide, including to IBM clone manufacturers who undercut "Big Blue" with cheaper, but equally well performing machines. Possessing ownership of the operating system gave Microsoft a worldwide advantage over any other software application developer because to run well on a machine powered by DOS; if the application software would not run well with DOS, it didn't sell.
Today, Microsoft is larger than IBM - software has triumphed over hardware.