There are two types of people with regard to data loss - those who have experienced it and those who will.
Yesterday, someone I know lost their hard drive and had to get their pictures and music back using a DVD backup that was created earlier in the month.
If you read no more of this post please periodically test whatever backup system you use by restoring your backup onto a different computer than the one that was originally backed up. If you burn your data to a DVD, insert it in a different computer to make sure you can really retrieve your data. With online backups, randomly point to a few files and make sure they *really* can be restored.
I realize that testing a backup is common sense, but it still needs to be said - and actually done.
IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT I CONSIDER WITH AN OVERALL BACKUP SYSTEM:
1. Redundancy have multiple copies, not just one. A friend's DVD backup failed, but there was a second (older) DVD that saved the day. To solve for this, copy a DVD or hard drive backup to an unrelated computer, from time to time.
2. Avoid single points of failure Have physical location differences between the main copy of the data and the backup. I have had a lot of folks tell me their notebook was stolen along with the external drive containing their backup. Storing both at the same location was a single point of failure. Likewise, a fire could destroy both copies of the data if the backup is kept onsite. Keep an offsite backup. I also seen external disk drives connected to a computer then a power surge kills both devices because they were both connected to power. An online backup solves for the issue of single points of failure.
3. Ease of use, actually doing backups. There are a lot of complicated concepts that people have regarding backups these ideas usually only work on paper because humans make mistakes or don't have time and rush or worse, they don't do it at all. These are concepts such as "we have a different disc for each day of the week", or "we alternate between external hard drives". In my experience, these systems most always fail when they are actually needed.
MY PERSONAL OPINIONS ABOUT BACKUP STORAGE DEVICES
I like to save backup copies of data to DVD they are easy to move, store, safeguard, and they are water proof and not subject to electrical issues like electrical shock. I do not personally use external drives as a primary backup component, but hard drives are better than no backup at all. Hard drives spin at 5400+ RPMs waiting to fail it is unfortunate, but it is a fact of computing. I also do not recommend using thumb drives they get lost easily and can be stolen easily and I don't personally trust solid state storage devices as a backup device. In this context, solid state essentially means "no moving parts" memory chips only. Although I prefer DVDs, I would choose a hard disk over a thumb drive for the purpose of backing up. With a hard disk I can have the data recovered at a physical level, if necessary; this is not currently an option with solid state storage devices. When the data is gone, it really is gone. These are just some of the reasons I prefer using DVDs or CDs for my backups.
MY PRACTICAL ADVICE ON A SIMPLE AND RELIABLE BACKUP SYSTEM:
On networks where it is my decision and responsibility to ensure backups are working data is backed up using a two-part system.
1. Data is atomically backed up using an online backup service. I recommend Carbonite online backup, which costs 55.00 per year. I get no money for endorsing it. It just works and it has served me and my clients well. Carbonite runs automatically and stores an unlimited amount of data online. With this program it is easy to view and actually see what has been stored online; additionally, Carbonite can restore saved data to a different computer fairly easily. Carbonite saves several historic versions of your files. In my opinion, it is the best 55.00 per year anyone with a computer can spend. This solves for human error (runs automatically and backs up changed files) as well as removing a single point of failure, in that the backups are stored online and offsite.
2. As a redundancy to the online backup, data should be backed up to a separate (local) network computer, an external hard drive, or a DVD/CD. These backups should occur every month at a minimum - and the backup should be tested by restoring the data to a different computer than the one that burned the DVD. This is an optional step, but is very important in my opinion.
WHAT SYSTEM DO I USE TO BACKUP MY DATA?
I use an HP notebook as my main computer. I also have a file server that is in my office. The server is accessible remotely and securely, from any computer using Windows XP or later. Without my notebook, I can log into my server from a client computer as needed. When I am in my office, I periodically use a program called GoodSync to maintain identical concurrency between documents on my server and my notebook. After Good Sync runs, the server and the notebook have IDENTICAL copies of the documents. I can lose EITHER system and still have my documents. This gives me redundant copies of my data, but it has a single point of failure in that both computers are stored in my office at night. To address the issue of the single point of failure, and to add a further redundancy, I have Carbonite running on my server making automatic backups. From time to time I make sure that my most important document is actually usable from ALL THREE COPIES. Additionally, I make DVD copies of my data every six months or so. For me, the most important document I have is my QuickBooks data file.
FINAL POINT
Test your backup system by restoring your backup to a computer other than the one that saved the backup - you might be surprised! - Michael Van Hoesen
