The Evolution of Backups

Has your computer or laptop ever crashed? If it has, you probably know the importance of a good backup recovery system. If it hasn’t, mark my words, it’s only a matter of time. I know this from personal experience…

When I was young and naïve, I thought I was invincible. This meant snow skiing without a helmet, riding on the back of boys’ motorcycles, and not backing up my computer. The day my computer crashed and I lost 5,000 songs, 3,000 pictures and my revised thesis that was due in a week was the day I decided to make two major changes in my life: I started listening to my father and I started backing up my computer. So, 500 dollars and a recovered thesis later (my music and pics were never restored), I sat down with my dad and his tech savvy friend and backed up everything I had left on to floppy discs.

Today of course, floppy discs, tape backups and (if you’re a child of the 50s) punch card backups are a thing of the past. They have been replaced with hardware, software and Cloud backup solutions like Datto, MozyPro and IoSafe. But what are these solutions really? And what are backups really capable of – can they resurrect all lost files from the dead, or simply keep your business afloat if a disaster does strike?

The answer: it depends.

Below explains , in layman’s terms, the different options you have to choose from when it comes to backing up your data, starting with the simplest and least expensive option and ending with the most expensive and robust choice.

1.      An NT Backup is the most basic backup option available. Here’s how it works: When you buy a computer, NT Backup comes pre-installed on your server. To perform the backup, you would plug in a standard USB and run the backup so all the data from your computer would be copied and stored on the USB drive. You can recover files from the backup and if your computer crashes, you’ll have all your files on the USB drive. To do this however, you must first reinstall the Operating System (an operating system is what makes your computer operate- Like Windows 7 or XP) and do a full system recovery to get your documents back.

It’s important to be aware, however, that a full recovery may not be entirely successful if the hardware was ever changed at any point. For example, say your computer was purchased in 2002, well, that same hardware is no longer made today, so new hardware, which requires new drivers, must be purchased. The backup will not contain the new drivers, and it will have to be installed in order to get all your old data, settings etc. back.

Another issue to be aware of with this most basic type of backup is that you cannot run a temporary copy of the server in a virtual environment. Virtualization is when you run one system on another (for example, running Windows XP on a Windows 7 machine). Backups that include virtualization generally allow automated copies to be backed up to another location, so, even if your building burns down, your information would be safely stored in another location. With an NT Backup this is not an option.

2.      An IoSafe drive can be used instead of the regular USB drive with an NT Backup for additional protection. An IoSafe drive is a waterproof, fireproof and even gunshot proof USB drive. So, no matter what type if disaster hits your company, your information will be safe inside this “unbreakable” device. Even though the ioSafe is unbreakable, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take additional precautions. It is still important to have another backup that you take offsite in the off chance a hurricane comes in and sweeps away your office with your ioSafe, and all your data, inside the building.

3.      A step up from NTBackup is Symantec System Recovery. This software does allow for the things the NTBackup is lacking; restoration to dissimilar hardware, virtualization (though you will need a server to run the virtual copy on), and automatic duplication of backups for removal offsite (basically you can make a copy of your data and take it to another location so if something happens in one place, you still have a copy in another). Symantec System Recovery also writes to a USB drive like NTbackup, and when combined with an Iosafe and 2 rotatable USB drives, is a very cost effective solution that covers all the bases.

4.      The next level of backups is a Backup Disaster Recovery device or BDR.  BDR’s are a standalone server that backup the other servers to themselves then replicate that data off site to the cloud. This provides 2 levels of protection, an onsite and offsite backup without the hassle of carrying a drive off site regularly. Some BDR’s also offer the additional feature of virtualization. With virtualization, you can actually use the BDR hardware as a server temporarily until new hardware arrives. With a BDR, recovery is extremely easy. The backup image can be loaded directly to any hardware from the BDR, and without the issues the NT Backup has of the hardware changes. Datto is one company that offers a BDR.

5.      Another option you have for backups is a complete cloud option like Mozy or Carbonite. This is where all of your data is stored at a remote location (aka in the cloud). The price depends on how much you decide to store in the cloud. Recovering files with this type is straight forward but a full system recovery requires first reinstalling the Operating System and backup software the entire data set which can take quite some time.

There are pros and cons to all of these choices; so it’s important to analyze you or your company’s specific needs before making a decision. Let’s look at an example:

Say you are a big firm and deal with hundreds of large files, maps and photos every day, and you choose to go with an all cloud based backup. Because of the size of your data, using a cloud backup would become very expensive very quickly because each time you store additional files in the cloud you get charged for it. Also because of the size of the files, it takes a long time to upload them, leaving a gap where the most recently changed files haven’t had time to upload. It might make more sense to have a local backup and then replicate to the cloud. However, if you are a small law firm and need a place to store old client files until the statute of limitations is up, the cloud could be a good option since you can rest easy knowing your files are stored someplace safe in case you need to access them for some reason.

Although backups can seem like a complex and complicated beast to tackle, it’s well worth the effort. Plus, you can always rely on the techs here at Aegis to explain it to you in more detail – give us a call at 850.422.2661.Just remember, if you don’t go skiing without a helmet, and you don’t speed down curvy, wet roads on the back of a Harley, you shouldn’t neglect your computer backups either. Stay safe, stay protected, and keep your computers, and your company, up and running.