Data Backup - Which is the Better Way?

Author: Lee Morrell
Before we investigate which data backup method is a best fit for your business, we need to evaluate why and what you expect from your backup solution.
Obviously, we backup our data so we can continue trading after a disaster, but what type of disaster are you protecting yourself from and how quickly does your system need to be back online? Please think about this before you think of the usual stock answer, "I am protecting myself from all disasters and I want to be back online as soon as possible" easy to do if you have £500,000 budget and many man hours to devote to the task of backup. You need to be realistic about your backup and restore plan. Are you planning to recover from a hardware failure, total server failure, fire flood or any malicious event? Remember, the rule, the bigger the disaster you plan for, the bigger budget you will need.
Let's look at the business backup options;
Tape Backup - Is a solution which has been around for many years, recent technology means backup and restore is becoming faster and faster. The main benefit of tape based backup is the speed in which you can restore, tape solutions are now capable of moving data at rates of up to 80MB per second. The down side is the initial cost, a high end tape backup device will cost from £4,000 and can work their way up to hundreds of thousands. The software to control the backup starts at around £500 per device to be backed up and can escalate to £3000 per device. Cost of media, £30 per tape and usually you will need a minimum of 10 tapes.
Cost aside, the human intervention requirement can be a drain on resource, for example someone will need to ensure a tape is fitted into the backup device and removed offsite after the backup has taken place. Usually most company's leave the tape inside the server overnight, leaving your backup exposed to the same threats as your server.
Disk to Disk Transfer Easily the fastest way to backup and restore and is suitable for high quantities of data which can be transferred between two servers at up to 320MB per second. The speed of this form of backup is usually only slowed down by the network connecting them together. There are two downsides behind this solution, firstly the cost; you will need a second server and this server will need to grow at the same time as your live server. Secondly it is impossible to remove the server to a secure remote or offsite location, again leaving your backup exposed to the same threat as your live server.
Offsite or Online Backup - By far the cheapest method of backup, however until recently your backup and restore process can usually operate only as fast as your internet connection, usually 2MB per second. This form of backup has usually only been suitable for smaller companies with smaller quantities of data. Times have changed, some offsite backup solutions now offer high performance disk to disk backup functionality whilst still securely backing up your data to an offsite location, you might say this offers the best of both worlds, very fast restore using disk to disk functionality but still copying your data offsite ensuring you will always be able to restore regardless of disaster.
One final benefit is zero human intervention; once you have setup you backup schedule the whole process is automated from there on in.

About the Author:
To find out how online backup can help your business please visit http://www.perfectbackup.co.uk/

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/data-recovery-articles/data-backup-which-is-the-better-way-73602.html

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Online Backup - How Does It Work - Is It Really Better Than Tape?

Author: Andrew Stratton
Web-based storage service providers offer small and medium-sized businesses with an alternative to backing up their data on tape, disk or hard drives alone. For a monthly service fee – usually quite reasonable – business owners can schedule data backups to be delivered via the internet and stored on disks at a storage service provider's data center.
Once they understand how it works, many small to medium-sized business owners eagerly accept their IT manager’s suggestion to move their data storage system to the services of a web-based storage provider. The reason why is simple: compared to the costs of traditional backup systems (including hardware, various media and costly, constant human interaction) the savings and benefits of an online backup system are impressive, in terms of dollars, man-hours and reliability.
Large companies usually have the IT budget necessary to pay for on-site backup systems and a full-time, 24-hour staff to handle backups and restores. However – even though their data is just as critical to success – most small businesses usually don’t have the money to pour into that kind of data storage system. There’s hardly money for even a dedicated backup server – forget about a dedicated IT staff. The sad reality is that, most often, a small business' IT staff is so overloaded with and overwhelmed by the many, vital tasks of managing the company’s data on a daily basis that they frequently shove running backups to a back burner, just hoping they’ll get to it before disaster strikes.
There’s no worry about security of data in the hands of a reliable online data storage company, either. When that concern is voiced, it’s almost always because the person worrying about it simply doesn’t fully understand either the technology or the process.
In fact, all stored data is encrypted before it’s moved to the internet, and the data stays encrypted until the customer him- or herself needs to access it. Even then, only the business has the encryption key needed to release the data to view. The level of encryption is extremely high, as well. Online data storage companies most frequently use the same types and levels of encryption utilized by large financial institutions and the federal government.
Another plus of online data storage is the time necessary to recall whatever data is required. Typically, recovery time for data stored online is much less than the time needed to recover from tapes, CDs or zip drives. And with online data storage, there’s no IT personnel involved in either accessing or restoring … no time spent picking up media from an off-site storage facility and bringing it back to the office … no time spent searching for the right tape and then downloading it to a server … no human error and no salaried time wasted on the mundane (but necessary) machinations of manual data retrieval.
Considering the time, personnel and budgetary savings of using an online data storage system instead of media-oriented in-house backups, it’s no surprise that so many small to medium-sized business owners are opting for this process in lieu of their old reliance upon media-based storage. The speed, reliability and cost-savings of online data storage so far outpace the budgetary, personnel and space requirements of media-based systems that online backup is poised to replace media backups as the system of choice in today’s business world.
You can never be too prepared when disaster strikes. Protect yourself from data loss with online backup from Global Data Vault. Avoid downtime, revenue loss and angry customers with remote backup services from Global Data Vault.http://www.globaldatavault.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Andrew_Stratton


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