Bay of Isles Computers
63B Dempster Street
Esperance WA 6450
Ph: 08 9071 5542
Fax: 08 9071 5549
boic@boic.net.au
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Choosing the Right Backup SystemThanks to Idiots Guides Ensuring the integrity of your data is one of the greatest concerns of any computer user; important files can be lost to hard drive crashes or user error. Making sure you have a reliable backup can save hours of work.Ways to Protect Your Work With recent developments in technology, there are a variety of options available to users who want to make sure their data is safe. Each medium has its benefits and drawbacks, so your needs will help you make the ultimate data backup decision. Some important questions to ask yourself are :
Types of Archive Systems The following types of archive systems are widely available. To find out more about them, check the Web or call into our store.
Floppies Floppy disks, which hold 1.44 MB of data, are the most common method of backing up files, but they are not foolproof. Floppy disks often fail, and unlike hard drives, there usually is little chance of recovering the data. It's never a good idea to leave your only copy of a file on a floppy. On the positive side, you can easily erase files from floppy disks and use the disks again. Floppies also are convenient when the objective is to transfer files quickly between machines. Most computers come equipped with a 3.5" floppy drive, but because now there are more reliable storage means available, some newer computers do not come with these drives. Also, because a floppy disk doesn't hold very much data, the floppy is quickly giving way to other, more secure methods of storing data. However, for smaller files floppy disks remain a great way of storing data and exchanging it quickly and easily. Archive Advice When transferring files to a storage medium, consider using a compression utility to zip up the files and make them smaller. Regular text files can be compressed to approximately ten percent of their original size, allowing you to store much more data. ZIP drives ZIP drives, a proprietary storage unit created by Iomega, can be purchased from a variety of manufacturers. The drives use a reusable cartridge that can store up to 250 MB of data. ZIP cartridges can be accessed only by using ZIP drives; however, there are a number of models available that can be transported from computer to computer as needed. Recordable Compact Discs The compact disc-recordable format enables users to create their own compact discs. This requires a special unit, called a CD burner, which records data on special CD-R discs. CDs can store a great deal of data—on average, 650 MB per disk. Some burners can store even more information, but this depends on the individual unit. Because CD units are included with most computers, CDs can be a great way to access data from other machines. Caution is needed, however, as not all recording formats are recognized by all computers. Archive Advice Data can be written to a CD-R disc only once. After the information has been stored, you cannot write additional data; nor can you delete any files stored on it. Re-Writeable Compact Discs Re-writable compact disc recorders can write to special CD-RW discs again and again. Once the information stored on a CD-RW disc is no longer needed, the entire disc can be erased and used again. CD-RW burners also can record regular CD-R discs just as a regular CD-R burner would; however, CD-RW burners cannot erase recorded CD-R discs. Writeable DVD Drives Format is not standardized and disks may not play in all DVD drives. Disks have a long storage shelf-life. Prices are dropping rapidly. Some formats are reusable but not portable. Verify the compatibility before you buy. Suitable for use on very large files, multimedia content, and special purpose applications. Tape Backup Drives Travan Tape Backup Drives 8-120 GB Storage per tape. Tapes are reusable but should be replaced after 40 or so uses. Very reliable. Drives must be cleaned regularly for long life. Cleaning kits are available (10 uses per kit). Recommended for use as workstation and home PC backups. DAT/DLT Tape Backup Drives 8-120 GB Storage per tape. Tapes are reusable but should be replaced after 40 or so uses. Extremely reliable. Clean regularly for long life. Cleaning tapes are available (30 uses per tape). Suitable for use on servers and where data is mission-critical and must be backed up daily. Mirrored Hard Drives The ease of this system is that no additional media is required. Just match the size of the storage drive to the original hard drive. Both the primary and mirrored disk are kept syncronized in realtime. Therefore, this solution doesn’t protect against data corruption, virus attacks, deleted files, equipment theft. Use may require additional hardware or software. Recommended for mission-critical computers where downtime must be minimized. Online File Storage There are many Web sites that allow users to store files on their servers, accessing the files by a Web Java interface that can make transferring files as easy as saving information to another hard drive within the computer. To take advantage of online file storage, you will need an Internet connection and a Web browser. Most of these Web sites provide a limited amount of free space, with additional space available at a premium or as an incentive for joining other programs. This can be a great option for users with high-speed connections, as the transfer of files is almost instantaneous. With slower connections, the file transfer will take more time, making the process more cumbersome. Hard Copy Printouts As a last resort, many people resort to hard copy printouts to archive and store data. The benefit is that it doesn't require a computer to restore the data before you can read it. If you choose to print out data for archive purposes, make sure you use ink that won't fade over time. Archive Advice Scanners with optical character recognition software provide the ability to scan printed data back into the computer. Although this process can be cumbersome and time consuming, it is still faster than manually keying in data. Better Safe than Sorry Base your choice of a backup system on how important your information is to you. If you can live without your computer for a few days and you aren’t storing anything important on your computer, you can skip full backups and just backup any data files you create. Plan on reinstalling everything on your computer before it will be usable again. Also, anything created or modified since your last backup may be permanently lost. If your computer is business-critical or is heavily used, a tape backup system is a must. Provided you are running complete backups, you can be up and running again in just a few hours. Mirrored hard drives are also a great precaution. Even though it protects against a smaller number of failures, you might be able to put off your recovery effort until a less critical time. Having a well-considered backup and recovery plan is an essential part of setting up any backup system. Make sure to periodically test your recovery procedures to ensure that your recovery strategy is functional. |
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63B Dempster St Esperance WA 6450 Ph: 08 9071 5542 Fax: 08 9071 5549
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