A few of you mention to not use time machine.. Care to elaborate on that? In your opinion, does it count as a good reliable source of backup?
Use whatever you like, Retrospect, CCCloner, AppleScript, Unix Shell Script, whatever.
Just start with a sheet of A4.
First look at the files you have that you want to back up. Be thorough but don't overcomplicate it - so I have about seven, Documents Repository, Downloads, iTunes Music, Library, Users, Photos and Work In Progress.
Then work out hw often you want to backup each, and what type of backup you want, ie. an incremental, or a "recycle" - backup everything overwriting the old backup.
So, for me, Documents Repository gets done once per week, Downloads once per month, iTunes Music once per month, Users every night, WIP every night.
And, for me, Documents is incremental, Downloads is recycle, etc.
Then decide if you want parallel streams for each backup, ie. the Downloads monthlly recycle backup is actually two backups scheduled to run once every two months, so Month 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 go to directory "DL A", the other backup, performed in months 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 goes to directory "DL B". this is so if the backup fails, I'll always have the previous months backup until I can reschedule the failed backup.
It doesn't have to be a recycle backup to use more than one stream. I used to use 7 streams for one of my daily incremental backups - each backup would run once per week and backup all the files changed in the last week.
But I now have two streams, each runs every second night. On the 7th night I do a recycle backup of one of the incremental backups. This runs every 2 weeks, so one week later I recycle the other incremental backup.
Finally decide if you want to split up one of the backups, ie. my Downloads is say 60GB (I kept everything back to System 6, I still have an SE). It may take too long, or get in the way if it kicks in at 2am while I'm still trying to kill off the Dutch in Civilization. So it's split into 3 backups, one for OS updates, one for app updates, one for game updates, one will run on the 1st of the month, one on the 8th, one on the 15th, etc. My folder hierarchy makes it easy for the backup to pick up the right stuff.
Basically do whatever you think you need. You want to backup everything every night, go for it.
There is of course, loads of stuff I don't back up, all my scratch directories, the OS, the installed apps - but I keep a strict log of what gets installed and when (and that log is backed up). Time Machine just didn't cut it for what I wanted to do. It may work well for most users, but as Mac users we had perfectly tuned backup strategies for 20 years before Leopard showed up.
It's also my day job, Oracle DBA consultancy, being able to backup quickly and completely is fundamental (amongst many other skills required), the Oracle RMAN software is first rate for backups (well, it was awful in 8i) but it's not always perfectly suited for the client, if your business is not 24/7 then there may be better alternatives.
Ah, very final point, if you develop and build a backup strategy, test it of course, but you must periodically read the logs it may produce. Make sure they run, make sure they finish, correct any issues, check disk spac available and have a plan for what happens if you run out (I had my 750GB backup disk nearly fill up overnight a month ago, about 12GB free I think. Plan, run out and but a new 2TB unit to replace it).
