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Backups. Which one is the best?

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denwood

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Jun 7, 2009
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Since I have started using a paperless office software system (‘Docusoft’, which is excellent), I now need a good reliable backup system. I have 4 PCs and a server which are all networked.
I don’t like the idea of removable tapes or hard drives which have to be taken off sight. This is another responsibility that I don’t really want unless I can find an alternative.
I have been warned off online backups as being unreliable.
Is there such a thing as an indestructible (or near to it) hard drive that could be berried somewhere out of the way?
Dell do an off site backup system. Here it is http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/storage-dl2000-symantec?c=uk&l=en&s=bsd&cs=ukbsdt1
It must use an internet connection. This looks the most appealing to me as it involves the least amount of maintenance, I think.
Can anyone give me some advice or experiences on this matter, please?
 
how is the dell option any different to other online options - surely the reason people say online options are 'insecure' is because they transmit all that data across the internet. personally.

EDIT: just to be sure i understood you correctly are you saying that 'it must use an internet connection' to transfer data?
 
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Online backups do mitigate fire/flood/theft risks, but that is only part of the story. It's important that they are also monitored for success/failure, and that there is redundancy, ie more than one copy, and preferably in different geographic locations.

One big attraction of online systems is that they can be automated, removing the need for human intervention in tape changing, taking a disc home etc.

It is also possible to combine systems, and I have several clients who do exactly that. Volatile data, ie the stuff being worked on now, is backed up online, but historic data, which changes rarely is archived off onto removable media and stored offsite. This keep the data storage and bandwidth requirement to a minimum, though it does require discipline in what is filed where.

Some overall thoughts on business data backups here.
 
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Thank you KM-Tiger, Jolora. It doesn't have to be the internet that transmits the data but I don't think there is any other medium to transmit data form one remote location to another.

I have been told that the online backups like what Tiger is offering are unreliable, I wasn't given a reason why. I presume it's because of insecure connections via the internet. I know all online backups can be set to start at convenient times so it wouldn't be reliant on employees starting it.

The Dell option is different to online storage because I would be storing the data on my own hardware located at home which is remote from my workplace. Online services like what Tiger offer are stored on their own servers. I don't know what to think about this.

I undertood what Tiger's link said though:-

The Golden Rules of Business Backups


The efficacy of a backup strategy can be determined by examining how well it conforms to the following rules. All backups should be:
  • Regular - at least once daily. More frequently if there is a lot of data changing
  • Automatic – human intervention should not be necessary for the backup to take place
  • Incremental - meaning that you can retrieve data as it was a given number of days or months ago
  • Redundant - at least two physically separate copies of the data to guard against one copy failing or being corrupted
  • Off-site - to mitigate fire and theft risks
  • Secure - data transmissions should be encrypted
  • Monitored – it is vital to know if there has been any problem with the backup process
  • Tested - can data be restored from the backup?
Tapes, external or portable hard disks, CDs and DVDs have all been pitched as the solution to the backup problem, yet none of them satisfy all the rules listed above. It is true that such backup media can be stored off-site, but someone still has to remember to change tapes or insert CDs and then actually take them off-site. It is also questionable that it is appropriate for employees to take a copy of all the company data home. What happens when that person is on holiday or ill? Finally, how do you test each and every tape or CD - or do you take a chance that it will "probably be alright"?

This is a very good argument but I'm not sure about trusting a third party. The online option would be far less maintenance than the DELL option because I would have to buy and maintain the dell hardware at home. If it ever broke down, would I ever be bothered to have it repaired. I know this because I spent £3K on a voice recording system which was extremely problematic and in the end I have up with trying to maintain it and it no longer works.
 
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Yes there is a degree of trust involved, though nothing to stop you using more than one backup service, and getting redundancy that way.

As regards security, the transmission over the internet would be encrypted. We don't encrypt the stored data, but I believe some services do. But you could do the encryption yourself before sending to backup.

Online backup is not inherently unreliable, though any backup system could fail, which is why we would recommend monitoring and testing as part of the system. It is, however, an efficient process, as only changes to data are transmitted nightly, and that could be just one small part of a much larger file.

BTW: We don't offer this standalone, only as part of other services.
 
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Though my stuff is not mssion critical - I have a duplicate internal drive but could be an external usb drive and clone the working drive to the back up. This enables me to keep everything ready for an instant boot-up from the back up drive and I am ready for business. The back up drive can then become the master and one can sort out the defective drive and then clone back if you want to or use a new drive as the back up.

The only problem with the software I use it cannot be automated but takes less than 30mins. This is probably quicker than all the back ups and then restoring. I use acronic.
 
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Similarly to the OP, we work a paperless office set up and use two back up mediums (soon to become three!)

1. Back up on an external hard drive each day using acronis (I think!!) software. If the server fails, this'll be the quickest way of restoring all our data.

2. back up on the web to a remote server. Done automatically as files are ammended and runs seamlesly in the background. The main downside is that if we needed to restore the entire server, it could take a long time!! However, it's a secondary back up and also gives the flexibility to restore individual files reasonably quickly and also keeps some previous versions of files, which solution 1 doesn't.

3. Just looking now at a newish logmein product, which appears to do the same thing as the Dell offering. It backs up over the web, but to your PC at home. So I'm thinking of setting up a NAS at home and backing up to that.
 
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If you want to test online back up then things like Mozy offer a free trial of ??GB.

Remember that uploading data is slow. So if you are producing loads of pictures say every day then it may not work for you.
 
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Barclays bank offer i sure data back up for about £7 per month , i use it it send my data DAILY to the secure servers. I have used it to restore my files. Its great you go to a new computer and log on , press download and everything comes back like it was never lost. Its worth its money no doubt in that !
 
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A NAS drive (I use a 9TB Ready Nas Pro) combined with a copy of Acronis is an effective solution - however its on site so open to theft/fire/flooding etc

In truth though all back up solutions have potential weak points - you just offsetting the chance of both back ups being damaged at the same instance by how much thought you put into your planning.

Online backup is probably your easiest solution - if you are happy the system and people in charge of your data can be trusted.
 
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which_08 said:
Barclays bank offer i sure data back up for about £7 per month , i use it it send my data DAILY to the secure servers. I have used it to restore my files. Its great you go to a new computer and log on , press download and everything comes back like it was never lost. Its worth its money no doubt in that !
Click to expand...


I've looked at that and I don't think that you can back up a server, only individual PCs.
 
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