Making sure that your company data is available after a disaster, big or
small, is one important issue that every company needs to prepare for. Backup
often, and to many locations, should be the mantra of every business.
The good news is that there are a number of ways to protect your data, and
they are easy to implement and fairly inexpensive.
See if any of these stories sound familiar (if they don't, consider yourself
lucky, because these have happened to actual companies just like you.)
The Break-In
You arrive at work on Monday morning to find that someone has made off
with your network server and your office computers. Insurance pays for the
replacement equipment, and you'll be back up and running once you reload
your backup tapes, right? Except for the fact that the thieves also took all
of the backup tapes that were sitting next to the server.
The Melting Point
When discussing disaster preparedness with a new client, the Accounting Manager
told us, "I put the backups in the fireproof safe." We reminded them that regardless
of the temperature their safe prevented paper from burning, their backups
would melt long before that.
The Personal Disaster
Shared applications like accounting data can be backed up from the server. But
where are the files being stored for documents, spreadsheets and programs that
are only run from a single workstation? Many users save these files only to
their own hard drive and are not being backed up on a regular basis.
If your response to these events is "Our retinal scan and finger print access
controlled computer room is protected by halon gas",
we'll assume that you are addressing these issues satisfactorily. However,
if your server is sitting behind a closet door in the office, you should
definitely read on.
There are a myriad of ways to solve your backup needs and, in fact, the best
solution may actually be a combination of some of the methodologies
listed below. However, it cannot be stressed enough that, whatever path
you choose, backing up frequently and maintaining off-site copies are a
must.
That being said, let's take a look at some of the methods for doing backups,
both new and old, business and personal. That's right, depending on the size
of your business, some of the same solutions that are available at work
may also be right for you at home.
Backup Device Connected to Your Server or Workstation
If you substituted the words "tape drive" for "backup device",
you would probably have the most popular backup method since computers became
mainstream business equipment. In the last few years, with the proliferation
of low cost hard drive backup solutions, frequent backup for both small business
servers and individual desktops is easy and affordable.
Both types of devices usually come bundled with appropriate software
that can automate and schedule the running of your backups. One advantage
of tape drives though, is the ability to rotate backups off-site. For an
alternative for hard drive backups, see below.
Online Backup Storage
High speed internet access and the constant reduction in the price of data
storage have created a market for companies offering online backup storage.
In general, these online solutions connect with your desktop or server and
automatically backup your important files over the internet. Things to look
for when comparing vendors are:
- Encryption of your files so that they cannot be read during transmission or while stored off-site.
- Redundant backups that store multiple versions of your files, not just
the last one.
- The ability to backup files even if they are open and in use.
- Confirmation that the backups have occurred.
Online backup is available for individual PCs, as well as for networks, and
start at as little as $39/year for 30GB of space. Pricing and features
will vary by vendor with capabilities such as backing up server machines
or certain file types such as Microsoft SQL Server used to determine pricing.
Backup Servers
The latest addition, the backup server, is a little bit of a hybrid in
that its sole function is to manage the backup of all of the devices
on the network. Thus, individual users don't have to worry about backing
up the local files on their desktop as the backup server does this
for them automatically. Someone else worries about backing up
the backup server, again either to some storage device or online.
There are a number of manufacturers that make these devices and they are
available for both business and home use. In fact, if you haven't already,
you will probably be hearing much about the Microsoft Home Server. Aimed
at all of those families with multiple PCs in their house, and little or
no backup going on, it is also being touted as an alternative for small
businesses.
Summary
If nothing else, we hope this acts as a prompt to make sure your data is
protected. We have tried to give a general overview of the popular
methods available today, but each company needs to look
closely at their particular requirements.
If you would like to discuss your particular backup situation, please contact
Laura Kasman
at lkasman@kastechco.com
or
215-702-8155
.
