| Imagine this - you arrive one morning to find that a | | | | backup is from last night, you have no way of |
| faulty read-write head has crashed your server's hard | | | | retrieving the data.* Restoring files that were |
| disk overnight, rendering it useless. Or a small | | | | deliberately deleted months or even years ago, when |
| electrical fire has destroyed part of your office, | | | | you thought you would never need them again, can |
| including your server. This server was used to store | | | | often be of great benefit.3. Off-site backupsIf your |
| customer lists, payroll details, accounting details, | | | | office burns down, you don't want all your backups |
| purchase orders, inventories and other data vital to | | | | to burn with it, so it's important to physically move |
| the running of your business, built up after years of | | | | some of your backups off-site. We recommend that |
| operation and growth.You find that you were | | | | any weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly backups |
| seriously ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster. | | | | are stored off-site at a secure location.4. On-site |
| Virtually all of your business' data had resided in this | | | | backupsWhile it is important to have some backups |
| one location. No copies were made. You are faced | | | | off-site, you don't want to have to travel back and |
| with the fact that many years' worth of data has | | | | forth whenever you need to retrieve a file. For this |
| been lost forever.Insurance will replace materials, | | | | reason it's useful to have recent daily backups |
| equipment and office space, but will that be enough | | | | available on-site to allow for quick recovery of files. |
| to get your business up and running again? Your vital | | | | These backups are still important, and for reasons of |
| business data can't be claimed on insurance, it can't | | | | security and reliability it is best to store them in a |
| be replaced with money alone. Would your business | | | | secure place such as a fireproof safe, rather than |
| survive after significant data loss? Unless you have a | | | | next to the server or on the System Administrators |
| good backup system already in place, the statistics | | | | desk.5. MonitoringIf you need to restore a file or a |
| are grim...* 43% of companies that experience a | | | | whole system, you want to be sure that all backups |
| severe data loss disaster, and that have no recovery | | | | completely successfully. It would be disastrous to |
| plan in place, never re-open.* 70% of companies that | | | | learn that your backups had failed only when you |
| suffer serious data loss go out of business within 12 | | | | attempt to perform a restoration. One way to |
| months.* It takes 19 days and costs US$17,000 | | | | ensure that each backup has been performed |
| (AUD$22,000) to manually retype 20 megabytes of | | | | successfully is to check the backup logs each day. An |
| sales data. The same volume of accounting data | | | | easier method is to acquire backup software that |
| takes 21 days and costs US$19,000 (AUD$25,000).* | | | | notifies you daily of the backup status and can alert |
| Loss of data cost US businesses in excess of 22 | | | | you to any problems.6. Follow the planIf you are |
| billion dollars in 2004.Just as the costs of fire damage | | | | using tapes, disks or removable hard drives for |
| can't be covered by insurance bought after the | | | | backing up, you will need to remember to change |
| event, the costs of data loss can't be avoided by | | | | these regularly depending on the backup scheme you |
| acting after the loss has occurred. It is vitally | | | | are using. Neglecting to do this could cause the |
| important that data is backed up before encountering | | | | backup to fail or could result in an important previous |
| hard disk failure, viruses, malicious software, mistakes | | | | backup being overwritten. It is also important that |
| by employees or other causes of lost data.Listed | | | | you insert the right device, as having the 4th-of-June |
| below are the 7 steps that we consider essential for | | | | backup data on the 1st-of-January tape would make |
| the protection of important data.1. Central storage of | | | | the right data very difficult to find.7. Regular file list |
| data on the networkThe first step in setting up a | | | | updatingAs you install new programs, add hard drives |
| backup system is deciding what needs to be backed | | | | and create new files, it is important to know that all |
| up. Ask yourself, what can I afford to lose? For | | | | new data is also protected. Of course, if you are |
| example, the latest Windows Service pack can be | | | | backing up the whole C: drive, for example, any new |
| downloaded again, so there is little need to protect it; | | | | files or programs on that drive will also be backed up |
| your customer database cannot so easily be replaced. | | | | automatically. However, if you are only backing up |
| Once you have identified the information you need | | | | specific, important files, it is vital that you keep this |
| to back up, you need to know where it is stored. | | | | list up to date, or you risk losing valuable data.Keep in |
| Although it might seem counter-intuitive at first, as | | | | mind that the average failure rate of a hard disk is |
| much of your critical data as possible should reside in | | | | 100%, as every drive will fail eventually. Make sure |
| one place on the network. It is far simpler and easier | | | | you stay in business by following the seven points |
| to backup, restore and protect one machine than | | | | listed above. How do you do that? Well, that's where |
| several. As a side benefit, physical and network | | | | a backup software package can help. Data protection |
| access to that machine (and therefore to critical and | | | | need not require a full time IT professional; it can be |
| perhaps sensitive data) can more easily be restricted, | | | | done by almost anyone with a bare minimum of time |
| improving security.2. Multiple backupsYou don't want | | | | to spare -- all you need is the right tool. Backup |
| to have all your eggs in one basket. There are many | | | | software can automate much of the process, |
| reasons why your company should have access to | | | | covering the seven steps above and providing |
| several full system backups.* A single backup could | | | | comprehensive data protection for your |
| fail. Tapes, CDs and hard drives all wear out | | | | business.Linus Chang is a backup expert and the lead |
| eventually, so you shouldn't rely 100% on a single | | | | developer of BackupAssist - tape backup software |
| backup to store your data. The more copies you | | | | that is simple and affordable, and perfect for small |
| have, the less likely you are to lose all of your data | | | | and medium businesses. Protect your Windows |
| to wear, fire damage, water damage, etc.* In the | | | | servers, including SQL Server and Exchange Server, |
| case of accidental deletion, data loss is often noticed | | | | to tape, REV drive, hard drive, NAS and more, at a |
| days after it occured, which means that if your only | | | | fraction of the cost of other backup software. |