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Diskette
Tape
Other
Problems with traditional methods
Procedure
Human
Errors
Equipment
Failures
Catastrophic
Loss
Problems Inherent to Diskette Backup
Problems Inherent to Tape Backup
Advantages of Remote Data Backup
Reliable, Automated Backup
Datasafe Saves All Altered
Versions of Each File
Datasafe Saves Only Data Files
(by default)
Data
Security
Automatically Updates to New Software
Data Compression
Significantly Shortens Transfer Time
Diskette
Today's data formats all but eliminate floppy drives as a viable means of backup - time,
quantity, corruption are all reasons to not backup using floppy drive utilities. There are
floppy disks to shuffle, sweating on boot up and a false sense of security.
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Tape
Tape backups are nice. Most people automate the backup procedure so it is working away
while you are safe at home in bed. Great, providing the tape is in good shape come
restoration time.
Tape systems have been the backup choice of almost all system managers for two
reasons:
1.cost
2.transportability
Tape has a cost per megabyte of less the one cent, significantly less than any other
storage technology. Tape also has the advantage of being a removable media in a package
easily transported off-site.
In the past, backup practices required an operator to remain on premises to change tapes
as they became full. Today the need for an operator of tape systems has been virtually
eliminated by high-capacity tapes and automated tape changer systems.
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Other
Other storage technologies such as removable disk, magnetic-optical (MO) disk, and CD-R
have not been employed in systems with large storage demands because of high cost and
inconvenience. WORM and large (12") MO drives have been used successfully in
transactional archiving (stock trading, ATM use, etc.) but are considered too expensive or
inflexible for day-to-day backup.
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Problems with Traditional Backup
Procedure
For the PC-based business with no IS support staff, the most widely used method of backing
up data is onto floppy disks. More often than not, this is done manually without even
using a backup program. This process typically proceeds as follows: at the end of the day,
the business person must remember which files were downloaded, created or revised, locate
them on the hard disk, label and format one or more floppy disks (assuming he or she has
blank floppies available) and copy each file to those disks. The most time-consuming and
painstaking part of this process is not only remembering each and every spreadsheet,
database, graphics, or word-processing file the user worked on, but remembering to which
directories those files were saved and finding them. While most existing backup programs
can identify new and changed files for the user, many users do not use backup software to
perform floppy disk backups because the software is difficult to learn and use.
Not only is floppy-disk backup inconvenient and slow, but floppy disks themselves are also
unreliable. Given the drawbacks associated with remembering the location of and retrieving
each and every file, and having to calculate which files and how many will fit on each
floppy, it is no wonder that few people have the time or the discipline to back up their
important data every day. When they finally do have the time to do it, perhaps at the end
of the week, the entire backup function will probably take significantly longer than if
the data had been backed up every day, and the likelihood that the user can remember every
file created or modified during the entire week is minimal.
Another problem with floppy disk backups is that they typically provide no disaster
recovery protection. This is because most users who do take the time to perform daily
backups often leave the floppy disks sitting right next to the computer, or at least in
the same room as the computer, rather than making two copies of each floppy and storing
one set in a safe, separate location. Therefore, in the event of fire, flood, or other
catastrophe, all of the data on the disks would likely be irretrievable along with the
hard drive.
The same issues generally apply to tape drives as well. Although more reliable than
floppies, and less manually intensive, tape backup still requires that the user interrupt
critical business operations to perform many of the same time-consuming tasks required for
floppy disk backup: buying and labeling the tapes, organizing them, waiting for the backup
to complete and perhaps switching tapes and organizing and storing the tapes in a safe
place. Further, one must consider the initial cost of the tape drive and the time and
effort involved in installation.
More often than not, this installation procedure requires a level of technical
sophistication that the computer user may not have. The time and effort required to
install a tape drive correctly, including learning the software that comes with it,
installing the right drivers, and configuring it properly, is substantial. It often means
spending hours online with a technical support person just to get the tape drive up and
running. And finally, as with floppy backup, the user still has to set up and have the
discipline to initiate each backup session. And there is no disaster recovery protection
unless two copies of each backup tape are made and one of them is stored off-site.
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Human Errors
Human operators must ensure that the tapes have been labeled and mounted in the correct
drive or changer, that enough media is available for the task, and that backup software is
queued to run and set correctly. After the backup, the operator must verify the backup,
log the tapes, and see that tapes are removed to an off-site location. Although the
completion of these tasks seems simple enough, illness, inattention, or conflicting
priorities can (and does) put backup execution at risk.
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Equipment Failures
On-site backup equipment is susceptible to drive and media failure, read/write head
misalignment, undetected read/write errors, and drive, media, or software
incompatibilities after component replacement. The latter problems are always discovered
during a restoration after a data loss -- a chilling thought.
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Catastrophic Loss
Surprisingly, many organizations keep backups on-site. In these cases, catastrophic loss
of equipment most often means loss of data also.
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Problems Inherent to Tape Backup
Tape is susceptible to degradation from wear, stretching, breaking, head misalignment, and
stretching -- all problems that effect the ability to restore data.
Tape backup software does not write to tape in native format. Each vendor has proprietary
properties in their write methods that are commonly upgraded. Backward and cross-vendor
compatibility is not always guaranteed.
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Datasafe Advantages:
Reliable, Automated Backup
Recognizing the risk of lost information, the objective of any growing business should be
to safeguard its data in the fastest, easiest, most reliable, economical and secure way
possible. Datasafe's automated, online PC backup and recovery service meets that
objective. Datasafe is the only fully automated, online backup solution available to
smaller business PC users in Amarillo, eliminating the inconvenience of buying,
formatting, labeling, organizing and storing floppy disks and tapes. Most important, the
service saves time and money and is more reliable by providing automatic daily backups,
completely eliminating the need for the user interaction and discipline that is required
with traditional backup methods.
In addition to this fundamental benefit, Datasafe service provides business users with a
number of other unique benefits.
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Datasafe Saves All Altered
Versions of Each File
Each time the user edits a file and saves the changes under the same file name, Datasafe
stores each version as a separate file, labeling each according to date. This enables
users to restore any particular version of the file that they may need. For example, if
the user deletes a section of a document on Wednesday but decides on Friday to re-insert
the section, he or she can simply restore Wednesday's version and cut and paste the
section back into the document. In contrast, with hard drive, tape or floppy backup, files
with the same name tend to be written over, rendering paragraphs or sections that were
written several days ago, but since deleted, irretrievable.
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Datasafe Saves Only Data Files (by
default)
Datasafe software can also determine which files are non-essential, such as clip art, and
do not need to be backed up. Datasafe intelligently distinguishes between those files that
the user creates and those that came bundled with the computer or were installed along
with other purchased application software. Since popular programs like Microsoft Word and
Excel now come with tens of megabytes worth of non-essential files, this feature of the
Datasafe software helps to reduce the amount of data included in, and the time it takes,
for each backup session. Of course, we perform semi-annual onsite full drive backup to
capture these application files. This way even in the event of a fire, where all of your
original software disks are destroyed, your hard drive can be restored to the way you left
it the night before.
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Data Security
Datasafe uses an 448-bit, Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithm to encrypt all data
before transfer over a commercial network. Only the user has the encryption passkey code.
No one, including Datasafe, can read the files during transmission or while stored
off-site. The encryption is completely transparent. It is the same standard that has been
used by banks and financial institutions for the last decade to safeguard wire transfers.
To illustrate the level of protection provided by Datasafe's implementation of the
standard, it is estimated that it would require 1,000 Pentium IV PCs working together
simultaneously for 25 years to break the encryption code. Furthermore, the users
encryption password is kept only on their PC. Files are automatically decrypted and
decompressed only during user-initiated data restoration.
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Automatically Updates to New Software
Any new release of software will be updated automatically. This feature is applied to all
of our software at no extra charge to you. This occurs during the nightly backup session
and requires no intervention on the clients part.
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Data Compression
Significantly Shortens Transfer Time
Datasafe regularly sees database compression in the around of 95% and data files at 75%.
This means that the data transfer time on these files is very short! In addition
compression makes contact with a virus impossible, as viruses cannot infect compressed
files.
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Please note, in an effort to keep costs reasonable, all drop offs and pick ups are scheduled.
| Amarillo Datasafe |
|
(806) 356-8599 Voice |
| 3101 Hobbs Suite 109 |
|
(806) 356-9597 Fax |
| Amarillo, Texas 79109 | info@amarillodatasafe.com |
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