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- All Hard Drives, Tapes and digital Die! You really should call us and have us set up automated backups for you. It costs much less than the alternative.
Backup Schemes - Most backup schemes are useless. Many are proprietary in that they use proprietary compression to alter your files, and proprietary file naming conventions. On your backup, you may not recognize the file names, or know what file extensions you're looking for. In fact, your backup file is probably thousands of files squished into one file. This usually means the only way to get that one old file back, is to install the original backup program you used years ago when you made the backup, and run the restore feature that came with it (Hope you kept your old discs and product keys). When you run the restore function (assuming it works with the operating system and hardware you're using), it may restore all your data, and maybe all your old programs, and operating system too, so you're probably best off to dedicate a whole computer to this chore. You might have to try this a few times if you're not sure what operating system, backup program, version, or discs you used. Then you can start searching for that one file you wanted. To make matters worse, most companies do not test their backups regularily. Worst of all, they try to save a buck by recording their data onto old, stretched tapes that go blank over time, or cheap discs (see Media & Optical Drives for more information) that can easily be scratched if they are not handled properly. hosting arrangements to a fully configured, mirrored disaster recovery site. Disaster recovery planning Mirroring and parallel storage configurations High speed, high availability Internet access Archiving processes | ||||||
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The better quality hard drives that we use are designed to last 5 years, but many cheaper drives fail after only 3 years, so you better back up your data. You should back up your data in a reliable manner, do it as frequently as required, regularily test your back ups to make sure they work, and store backups offsite. Tape systems are obsolete and unreliable; an extremely high percentage of tape backups contain errors or don't work at all, and most tape backups have never been tested. We can set you up with a reliable backup system and configure it to automatically perform backups.
Backup Mediums:
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| MEDIA | SIZE* | CAPACITY* | PROS | CONS | LIFE | |
| Floppy Disks | SIZE* | Very low capacity 1.44MB |
Portable, user friendly, very cheap | Obsolete, hard to find, slow sequential access, easy to steal, prone to errors, they go blank over time | LIFE | |
| Zip Disks | SIZE* | Low capacity 100MB, 250MB, 750MB |
Portable, user friendly, cheap | Obsolete, hard to find, slow sequential access, easy to steal, prone to errors,they go blank over time | LIFE | |
| Magnetic Tapes | SIZE* | Capacities vary with technology (QIC, Travan, DAT, 8mm, Mammoth, AIT, DLT, ADR, LTO, VXA) |
Portable | Obsolete, hard to find, many formats are proprietary, slow sequential access, easy to steal, not user friendly, maintenance required, tapes wear out, prone to errors, they go blank over time | LIFE | Optical Disks | SIZE* | Medium capacity CD 650-700MB DVD 3.95-4.7GB Blu-ray 25-50GB |
Portable, user friendly, multiple copies can be made for off-site archives, very cheap | Easy to steal, easily damaged, some brands degrade and lose data within a couple of years | LIFE |
| Flash Memory Cards |
SIZE* | Capacities vary with technology SDSC: 1 MB to 4 GB (SD) SDHC: 4 GB to 32 GB SDXC: 32 GB to 2 TB |
Portable, high speed, random access, user friendly, readily available, fairly cheap | Low capacity, easy to steal | LIFE | |
| Flash Memory USB Drives |
SIZE* | 2-256GB | Portable, high speed, random access, user friendly, readily available, fairly cheap | Easy to steal | LIFE | |
| Hard Drives (internal) |
SIZE* | High capacity 80GB-4TB |
High speed, random access, user friendly, readily available, competative prices based on capacity | Only last about 5 years, many cheaper brands fail after only 2-3 years, easy to steal entire computer unless you purchase one of our bolt-down Steel Cages (installation available) | LIFE | |
| Hard Drives (external) |
SIZE* | High capacity 80GB-2TB |
High speed, random access, user friendly, readily available, competative prices based on capacity | Only last about 5 years, not durable, requires case & power adapter, easy to steal, cheaper brands have extremely high failure rates, requires padded case if transported | LIFE | |
| Solid State Drives (SSD) | SIZE* | High capacity 40GB-2TB |
Portable, durable, high speed, random access, user friendly, readily available | Very expensive, especially external models | LIFE | |
| Network Backup (Local Computer or Server) |
SIZE* | Capacity depends on available hard drive space | Medium speed, random access, user friendly once configured, readily available, free if existing computers are used | Can choke slower networks, easy to steal entire backup computer (unless you purchase our bolt-down Security Cage, installation available) | LIFE | |
| Network Backup (NAS - Network Attached Storage device) |
SIZE* | High capacity 80GB-2TB or more |
Medium speed, random access, user friendly once configured, readily available | Expensive, can choke slower networks, easy to steal | LIFE | |
| Online Backup Remote Storage Service |
SIZE* | Capacities vary | Provides off-site backup via Internet, fairly user friendly, remote access, readily available | Large backups can be expensive, choke slower networks & servers, & may not work. Monthly or yearly fees, security & access could be a problem | LIFE | |
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*CAPACITY VS FILE SIZE - Capacity is how much data the medium can hold, but when making backups, there are usually limits to the size of each file or folder as well. These limits are usually determined by the type of format the medium uses (FAT, NTFS, etc.), and sometimes by the limitations of the backup program, and/or compression scheme (if used), and/or encryption scheme (if used). Further limits may also be encountered when backing up over networks.
COST - I have purposely left cost out because it should not be your first priority. Think about what your data is worth and how much it will cost you when it dissappears. No backup means that one day you will definately loose your data. You may only loose treasured family pictures, or you may loose your business. You may also be sued for damages if your customer's personal information falls into the wrong hands. You need to take reasonable steps to secure your data and your customer's personal information. You need a backup routine that provides the redundancy, portability, reliability, and security that is best suited for your needs in case of disaster. SyncBack - SyncBack is a freeware program that helps you easily backup and synchronize your files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CDRW, CompactFlash, etc); an FTP server; a Network; or a Zip archive. Google Sync - Google Sync is a free online application that synchronizes your calendar and contacts between your smartphone, laptop, and desktop PC. Google Calendar Sync - Google Calendar Sync is a free download for Outlook that synchronizes Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook (Do not confuse with Outlook Express). Dropbox - Dropbox is a free online service that synchronizes up to 2GB of data between your computers, the Internet, and iPhone or iPod Touch. | ||||||
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