Back that Data Up!
If you’ve ever had a computer crash, you know it can be a devastating experience, both for you personally and for your business. Keeping your data backed up is vital. This month we’ll examine a few of the most popular methods of data backup.
Tape Backup
Since the early days of computing, magnetic tape has been used as a medium for data storage. Tape drives have come a long way since the early days when cassettes were used in a tape recorder. Entry-level tape backup drives cost around $1,000 and are often installed as internal devices.
The Good? Tape backups can hold 60 to 600 to 1,600 Gb depending on the drive and the media used. You should use a tape backup if you plan on running large-scale backups (servers or multiple computers) on a regular basis. Purchase several sets of data storage and store a copy off-site, too.
The Bad? Tape backups aren’t the latest greatest technology, and require you to set aside a specific time each day/week to maintain them. There’s also the cost of additional tapes (which need to be replaced on a regular basis).
Online Backups
Most online backup services require you to install a tiny application on your computer that works in the background, looking for new and changed files. When a file is found, it is backed up on a remote server. These services are becoming more and more popular. Mozy.com and Carbonite.com are both popular online backup services. Mozy charges a monthly access fee plus a per-gigabyte surcharge. Carbonite charges an unlimited annual fee.
The Good? The benefit to these services is that data is stored online, therefore eliminating the need for additional equipment on your end. Mostly, these services run in the background and are activated and do their thing on a schedule, so you just need to make sure your computer is on with an Internet connection and your backup will run.
The Bad? If you have massive amounts of data that need backing up, you’re going to spend bandwidth and time uploading. Also, if something does happen and your computer crashes, online backups aren’t as convenient to restore as tape backups, simply because you’ll need to re-download and sync your data from the Internet...which can take hours.
Backup Software
Backup software such as Novosoft’s Handy Backup (handybackup.com) is a software application that runs on your PC to backup specific files and directories to a variety of sources, including network storage, external hard drives, tape backups, CDs/DVDs, and remote FTP servers.
The Good? This is especially helpful if you have only a handful of documents and files to backup. You can use this software in conjunction with a tape or online backup. For example, if you have three computers and a server, use backup software to make sure your individual PCs are backed up to the server, then use the tape or online backup to archive the server.
The Bad? I’ve often found this type of software to be bad when it comes to scheduled backups and any sort of FTP/offsite backups. Because it’s a full, bulky software application and not directly integrated into your operating system, it isn’t as reliable.
Summing up
When choosing a backup service, ensure the provider has a good reputation. You don’t want to back up your data with a provider who isn’t around tomorrow. Think long-term. How frequently do you need a backup? Is the backup a total system backup or just what’s changed since the last one (incremental)?
The bottom line is that if you’re a one-person shop with one computer, online backup is often the way to go. On the other hand, if you’ve got multiple computers, you’re looking at some combination of the above three methods.
Wrapping your head around the data backup process is truly an annoyance, but not nearly as annoying or as devastating as losing all your work and having to try and rebuild.
Solid Cactus Marketing Operations Manager & Certifiable Geek John Dawe contributed this post.
This post is filed under Developers' Corner and has the following keyword tags: software, technology, system administration.
3 Comments
Ken Litko says:
We backup over a VPN to a remote home server using Linux/OpenVPN/SAMBA/rsnapshot, using a $300 basic dell pc. Software cost = $0.
About the same price as 1 yr worth of remote backup service... and you can backup as much as you want, as often as you please. We even have a battery backup that will shutdown the servers at both ends gracefully.
You will need knowledge of using Linux.
rgross says:
Don’t forget my company, Memeo, which has a backup tool that will automatically backup your data to both an online storage site and an external hard drive, USB drive, iPod, FTP site, Network drive, etc. You mentioned the “bad” related to backup software and online storage, well our data backup tool, Memeo AutoBackup, offers a one-time setup that is designed to locate files across multiple directories and back them up to an external drive such as a hard drive, iPod, USB drive, network, or online. Its LifeAgent® platform makes it possible to instantly back up a file; there is no need to schedule backups at certain times of day because as files are saved to the hard drive a backup is made and saved as well. It is the best of both worlds, fast local backup and safe, online backup.
Dennis says:
Ken's idea sounds about the best, utilizing a back-up machine is always a good thing if you frequently have issues with the main server. The machines they make today are not expensive and can come in handy.
