How to Backup
Ok, so you've realised you need to backup your data - but you've no idea how.
Here's a few tips on how to backup.
What to Backup?
First of all you need to determine what exactly needs to be backed up. Do you want to store a complete image of your office server - operating system, application software and all user documents, emails and databases? Or do you just want to protect the family photos on the home PC?
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What you might want to backup |
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| Home PC | Photos, music, films, homework |
| Office PC | Emails, MS Office documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), Contact databases |
| Office Server | Business databases, Line-of-business software, User documents and profiles, Shared files, Email server, Active Directory, System State |
Where to Backup?
Now you know what you want to backup - you need to decide where you're going to put it. Wherever you decide to store your data, it's good practice to ensure that backed up data is NOT kept at the same location as the original source. For instance, if you've backed up your holiday pics onto a CD and left it on top of your PC, this won't be any help to you when your house burns down. Perhaps an extreme example, but you see the point. Local threats like fire, theft and flood mean you really should be taking your data offsite after each backup.
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Pros |
Cons |
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| Writable CDs/DVDs | Cheap | Capacity - you may end up
juggling dozens of disks Daily maintenance Need to be transported offsite |
| Flash drives | Highly portable | Easily lost
Volatile - can become corrupted
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| Tape | High Capacity | High cost of tape drives
Reliability issues |
| Portable hard disk | Good transfer speeds
Reliable |
Daily maintenance Need to be transported offsite |
| YouBackup™ | Completely automated
No need for user intervention once setup |
You need to pay a monthly
fee based on how much data you backup |
