Critical Mass: Backups Computers store vital information including financials, scheduling, email, even pictures, but most users fail to take into consideration a solid backup.
This is a potential time bomb.
Computers do fail and backups then are heavily relied upon.
I see this every day, and people without a solid backup are devastated.
BackUp Options: Backing up to an external hard drive is not a reliable long term solution.
A hard drive is simply a number of CDs stacked between a read/write head, and these parts are moving constantly.
They wear, fatigue and fail over time.
While typically acceptable for home use, this is not a good solution for business use.
Off site backup has its own perils.
Upload speeds are extremely fast--it looks great.
Most download speeds to restore are so slow that even small amounts of data can take a number of days to restore.
The best solution for Backing Up important data is an external RAID device using an industry standard software product.
A RAID is a redundant array of independent hard drives, so you have duplication in case one drive fails.
This device, while extremely reliable, should be checked regularly to make sure it backed up successfully.
Backup Routine Maintenance--verifying you have a good backup: There are two steps to verify a successful backup.
Every few months create a test document, and let your backup run as scheduled.
The next day, delete the test document then do a restore.
If this test file restores correctly, you are halfway there.
This is the "big" picture of the backup.
The "detail" part of this verification is that you should be familiar enough with your backup software to be able to look at the log and make sure the backup ran without errors.
This is a simple but important step as it confirms that all the individual files backed up without errors.
Preparation is priceless: To have a solid, verified backup will save a lot of sleepless nights.
Once a drive or server crashes, most frantic people will try a last-ditch effort and send the old hard disk out for Data Recovery.
Over the years, we have found that the Data Recovery companies have a very unhappy client sign a contract that says that there are no guarantees that the information will be recovered.
The only guarantee is fee which is typically significant and this is non-refundable.
In my experience we have never had a client receive usable data from a data recovery company in time to be of use in a productivity crisis.
The cost of the computer and new backup is minimum compared to what it is to replace the information which is priceless to most people.
One quick question: The one question that I always ask people when I first meet them, is "If the computer that you are working on was to disappear off of your desk right now, how would it affect you? The reason that I ask this question is that most people say there is not any important information on the system but we almost always get the call a few days later that they rethought the importance of their data.
For more information Contact Ben Soussan Ben@commsat.
net
This is a potential time bomb.
Computers do fail and backups then are heavily relied upon.
I see this every day, and people without a solid backup are devastated.
BackUp Options: Backing up to an external hard drive is not a reliable long term solution.
A hard drive is simply a number of CDs stacked between a read/write head, and these parts are moving constantly.
They wear, fatigue and fail over time.
While typically acceptable for home use, this is not a good solution for business use.
Off site backup has its own perils.
Upload speeds are extremely fast--it looks great.
Most download speeds to restore are so slow that even small amounts of data can take a number of days to restore.
The best solution for Backing Up important data is an external RAID device using an industry standard software product.
A RAID is a redundant array of independent hard drives, so you have duplication in case one drive fails.
This device, while extremely reliable, should be checked regularly to make sure it backed up successfully.
Backup Routine Maintenance--verifying you have a good backup: There are two steps to verify a successful backup.
Every few months create a test document, and let your backup run as scheduled.
The next day, delete the test document then do a restore.
If this test file restores correctly, you are halfway there.
This is the "big" picture of the backup.
The "detail" part of this verification is that you should be familiar enough with your backup software to be able to look at the log and make sure the backup ran without errors.
This is a simple but important step as it confirms that all the individual files backed up without errors.
Preparation is priceless: To have a solid, verified backup will save a lot of sleepless nights.
Once a drive or server crashes, most frantic people will try a last-ditch effort and send the old hard disk out for Data Recovery.
Over the years, we have found that the Data Recovery companies have a very unhappy client sign a contract that says that there are no guarantees that the information will be recovered.
The only guarantee is fee which is typically significant and this is non-refundable.
In my experience we have never had a client receive usable data from a data recovery company in time to be of use in a productivity crisis.
The cost of the computer and new backup is minimum compared to what it is to replace the information which is priceless to most people.
One quick question: The one question that I always ask people when I first meet them, is "If the computer that you are working on was to disappear off of your desk right now, how would it affect you? The reason that I ask this question is that most people say there is not any important information on the system but we almost always get the call a few days later that they rethought the importance of their data.
For more information Contact Ben Soussan Ben@commsat.
net