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Embrace the 3 rules of computing...

Posted By : of Data Doctors on September 19, 2001

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Embrace the 3 rules of business computing: Backup, Backup, Backup!

This question was answered on September 19, 2001. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.


In our dozen or so years of providing data recovery and data forensic services, we have heard virtually every story concerning lost data

Every story, however, starts with the same two words, “I thought…”

“I thought I had a good backup.”

“I thought our tape backup system was working.”

“I thought our IT department had us covered.”

“I thought a RAID drive system never failed.”

Companies large and small fall prey to the one thing that no amount of technology can overcome - human nature!

It is astonishing how many people make the statement that “our system had been working perfectly for 3 years, so I wasn’t that worried about my backups”

As a business owner, CEO, CFO or user on the network, it is important to remember that there are two types of hard drives: those that have crashed and those that are going to crash

The assumption that a system or server is new and is less likely to “crash” is also a common mistake The hard drive is the most mechanical device in any computer and is the most likely point of a critical failure

You never get to choose when a drive will fail, so acting like “tonight is the night” is always the best approach.

Here are a few tips to putting data recovery firms out-of-business:

#1: Always rotate your backup media Create a rotation system that includes a disk/tape for each working day This means a minimum of five different backups per week In addition, include at least two more disks/tapes that can be used as an end-of-the-month backup; one for odd months and one for even Be sure to replace them once a year to head off media failures.

#2: Always set your backup system to verify your backups Verifying compares the files on the backup device to the files on the system to make sure they are identical It is the best way to discover media failure or other problems It generally doubles the backup time, but if you don’t verify the backup, you won’t know that you have a problem until it is too late!

#3: Make sure to have an off-site storage system Off site storage used to mean that someone had to remember to take a somewhat current backup home, and remember to bring it back to be rotated If your business has a dedicated pipe to the Internet, consider using an FTP backup system or one of the many secure web based backup systems Don’t use them as a primary backup system, but they sure do come in handy when your primary system fails! Checkout xdrive.com, idrive.com, @backup.com or connected.com.

#4: Consolidate your network data Don’t allow users to store mission critical data on local hard drives unless there is a copy on the network server Having your critical data scattered around the network makes dealing with backups more difficult and less likely to be complete.

#5: Don’t bother backing up program files daily Program files don’t change very often, so it’s not necessary to back them up every day This will help reduce the time and the space that it takes to backup and likely improve the chances of the backup being performed properly.

#6: Read the logs Virtually every backup system creates a log file to summarize the results of the backup These logs can automatically be e-mailed or printed, but it requires someone to read them in order to be effective.

#7: Create drive failure drills Remember the “fire drills” in school Do the same thing with your IT staff on a periodic basis Don’t let them tell you that everything is ok, make them show you It will force management to be more aware of data integrity and location.

Don’t let a drive failure be the catalyst for reviewing your backup system because it may be too late.

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of Data Doctors on September 19, 2001

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