Backup, FEBE

PTM: There is this FEBE to make backups. I checked it and was a bit 
disappointed. It works fine with FF. Still I would love to see it make 
backup of TB too.

We got about 15000 customers and losing ones data is always the worst 
thing there can happend.
I have tried for years to build tools for backup. Here is some of my 
toughts:

1.  There should be a global system variable 'BackupDirectory' pointing 
to one of these:
- External fixed (USB/FireWire/??) hardisk
- Hardisk in the net (smb/NFS/SFTP...)
- separate Hardisk in the same PC
- removable media (CD/ZIP/USB-stick)

2. The data and parameters of the program should reside in the same 
directory, different subdirectories

3. ABSOLUTELY NO HIDDEN DATA AND PARAMETER FILES OR DIRECTORIES IF THEY 
CONTAIN USER DATA !!! (directories with a beginning dot in Linux and 
hidden Local data directories in M$)

4. There should be a backup program, which takes the data directory name 
as a parameter. The program should be such that it could be run either 
like GUI or called from the originating program (FF, TB...). You could 
set the parameters while running it as a GUI.

5. NEVER pack, zip or tar the data. Buy larger HD.

6. Two levels of backup: Two accumulating backups (B1 and B2) of 
critical data, which is built by the user. One backup (C1) of anything 
copied from somewhere.
[My own system works like this:
delete B1, then update B1 for 6 times + C1, delete B2, then update B2 
for 6  times,
delete B1, then update B1 for 6 times + C1, delete B2, then update B2 
for  times... Update means 'copy only changes']

7. Verify backupped files

8. You got to have backup media size at least 3 times that of your 
original data. Better stil, if you have it on 3 separate HD's