Backup Strategy

This chapter explains different backpup strategies and helps with developing one.

Data Recovery

There is no doubt that you need to protect your data from loss as it contains your important documents and files which were prepared with months and sometimes years of efforts. Data protection is of two types:


Thus data recovery is also very useful part of data protection. Let us see how data recovery works. On your computer, whenever you delete a file, it is never completely erased from the hard disk. The file’s entry is merely removed from the File Allocation Table (FAT). The FAT contains the name and location of each and every file on the hard disk. This FAT is checked by the Operating System every time it boots.
So, even after you delete a file from your computer, it still exists in the raw form on the computer hard disk. At this point, if you immediately realize that you deleted the file by mistake and want to recover it, the chances of recovery are very good. This is because recovery software generally don’t rely upon the FAT – they, instead scan the disk for its raw data content. As time passes, the odds of recovering data get slimmer.
Also, if you try to recover an old file after adding some new data, the file may not be recoverable at all, as the newer files may have been written into the space once occupied by the older one.
Thus there is no guarantee that recovery will be successful. It is therefore clear that data recovery is not as reliable as the data backup and restore option. However, you may encounter situations when data recovery is needed. You should hence keep some data recovery software with you. Some of the popular data recovery software include the following:
  1. ONtrack EasyRecovery Professional
  2. R-Studio FAT
  3. Stellar Phoenix FAT & NTFS 

You should note that the data recovery software should be installed prior to crash or should be run from a removable disk or another hard disk. This is because installing these software after the data has been lost may result in the writing of these software in the space once occupied by your data.
The data recovery software are available with a variety of features. You should select the software that best suits your needs. The main features to look out for include the following:

For the normal user, it is generally recommend that data backup should be taken at regular intervals and data recovery software should be used only in an emergency.

Doing Incremental Backups with Mozy

Doing Incremental Backups with Mozy


Do You Need Backups?


Taking back ups has always been a tedious task and all computer users need to take a back up periodically to save themselves from any sudden mishap. It is a big headache too and this is the reason that most of us refrain from taking a back up. But if just in case our hard drive crashes, we thank all our stars and be proud of ourselves that we have a backup stacked somewhere safely. Thus, it is imperative that taking proper back ups is very important.

What is Mozy?


Mozy is wonderful software to take backups for Windows or Macs. It is one of the Top 5 backup Software that makes your task very simple. You can easily schedule Mozy to take backups of whatever data you have selected and it automatically performs incremental backups of your data. This means that you do not have keep track of changes in your system, but Mozy takes care of it easily. It takes backups of only updated changes which mean that your taking backup is easier and faster each time. Also, you can roll back to previous back up anytime.
Each back up file is encrypted on your PC with a strong 448-bit Blowfish encryption. You can also supply a private key which is then sent to servers from Mozy via 128-bit encrypted SSL connection. The only problem is that if you provide your own key and if you lose it, no one can help you recover your data. If you use Blowfish encryption, at least Mozy may be able to help you recover your data to some extent. However, you can be sure that data sent via 128-bit encryption layer is fully secure and you need not worry about security breach of your data.

Setup Interface


Mozy offers an easy to use configuration interface which is equally powerful. You can configure it to backup certain folders or certain file types. There are pre-built interfaces available so that if you have to only copy financial data, you can do so by clicking the option for “Financial Data”. You can similarly opt for “Music, Photos, Doc files, XLS files, etc. You can also schedule backups to run in background to save your CPU usage while you are working. This means that you shall always have an up-to-date back up ready all the time and you do not have to do it manually either. Mozy also lets you throttle your bandwidth so that you do not have to compromise on your normal surfing.

How to Use Mozy?


 Mozy offers simple and easy to use service for creating backups. You need to create an account with Mozy and give them your personal details such as email address, name, zip code, etc. in exchange for 2GB of online storage space. You shall need to download the software to create back up of your PC which is quite nicely facilitated by a “wizard’ that lets you take your first back up. You can opt to take a backup from pre-defined series offered by Mozy. These comprise of your Favorites folder, bookmarks, Outlook emails, Address books, photos, music files, images, etc. You have the flexibility to choose these sets or create your own sets or use both. You can create your own set easily by selecting the files and folders and click ok to save it with your own file name.
When To Take Back Ups?
Scheduler is one of the key features with Mozy that offers you flexibility to schedule your backups. You can schedule your backup a specified time and date or tune it to perform backups when computer is not in use. Time taken to create a backup varies depending upon your connection speed, size of the files and total number of files. For a simple 2GB backup and restoration, it takes only a couple of hours.

How Can You Access Your Backups?


To access your backup, you need to login to the website and you can access any of your previous back ups including the latest one. Select the files that you wish to download and Mozy shall prepare a zip file for the file requested for download.
You can also use the restore feature available with Windows Explorer. This way you can choose to open Mozy drive directly from My Computer or select the files by right-clicking the files you need to restore. This features works only with computers that have Mozy installed on them. If you have tons of data and would like to create a DVD for it and shipped to your address, you can always pay a small fee and the DVD shall be directly shipped to your specified address.

Guidelines for Deciding a Backup Strategy

Once you have decided to backup your data regularly, you need to decide on an effective backup strategy. The strategy will be different for different kinds of people. However, the features of an effective strategy remain the same. What are these features?


Let’s look at each one in detail:
 
Your backup strategy allows you to restore any data you may need: At the outset, you need to identify the importance of the data on your PC. For a person working out of his home, his computer data is invaluable and no part of the data must be lost. In this case, a daily backup is recommended. On the other hand, for someone who uses his computer mainly to play games and surf the net, a weekly or even a monthly backup of important files and configuration settings is enough. After all, even if he loses the high scores for the few days when backup was not taken, what will he lose? Some high scores, some browsing history. This will not seriously affect him.
 
Your backup strategy is easy to follow: Any backup strategy is meaningful only if the PC user is able to follow it continuously for a long period. Taking regular backup is easiest when it done in an automatic fashion. For example, if a person decides to take a backup every 7-10 days, chances are that he will forget when the last backup was taken. If the computer crashes in between, then there will be loss of data. The solution is to stick to a particular day of the week. For example, the data is backed up every Wednesday. In this case, possibility of forgetting to backup is minimized. (An even better idea would be to schedule weekly updates on the computer itself.)
 
Your backup strategy is cost effective: Currently, hard disks that are available in the market crash often and hence you have to backup data to safeguard against disk failure. However, the threat of data loss is ever present; even if your disk does not fail, you can inadvertently delete important files and settings. Hence you need a backup strategy that is cost effective. The different backup solutions are as follows:

Ultimately, every one needs to decide on their backup strategy. These guidelines will differ by the monetary and time value of the data stored. The backup strategy used for a office PC used for business purposes and a home PC used for playing games will be different. The important thing to remember is to consistently follow a backup schedule.

Online Backup Service General

To understand why you need to use online backup services, consider the reasons why you should backup your data in the first place. The answers are obvious – to protect against hard disk failures, unintended deletions and other causes of data loss. Online backup services come in picture in the other causes.
 
Suppose, by some misfortune, the office is destroyed by fire, earthquake or floods. Misfortunes such as the Katrina are not common by they can happen at any place. What would be the result in traditional disk backup? Most people store their backup disk and drives in the same location as the original computer. The result is that the backup disks or hard drives would also be lost along with the original computer in face of the above mentioned catastrophes.
 
In online backup service, the user typically pays an annual charge for the right to store data online in a secure remote web server. The advantages are obvious. The data is safe in the event of a catastrophe. Even if you ignore the occurrence of a catastrophe, online backup is very useful when traveling. Consider the case that you are going to another city to make a presentation and your computer crashes. In such a case, you would hardly have the time to dash back to your home/office, get the backup and go back to make the presentation. On the other hand, if you had made an online backup of your presentation, then all you have to do is connect to the internet, go to your online backup service provider and download your presentation.
 
Another scenario in which online backup is useful is computer theft. A large number of computers are stolen every year in the U.S. from the homes of their owners. Chances are that the thief may also carry away your external hard disk drive or CDs in the hope of getting some useful information. The effect on you is that you are left without a computer and the data which you had worked so hard to create. Online backup is the solution to this problem.
 
Online backup systems also have some disadvantages. First of all, to use online backup, you need to have a high speed internet connection. Otherwise, how are you going to transfer the huge amount of data that typically resides on your computer? Next is the cost. If you compare the cost per GB of data, online data backup is the costliest. In addition to the fees payable to backup site, you incur the cost of internet usage payable to your Internet Service Provider.
 
Hence, you have to be selective about the data that you want to store online. A good thumb rule would be to store that data online till the time you have taken a backup of it in CD or DVD and moved it to a safe place other than where the original computer is. In this way, frequently accessed data is available online and other data is archived in the CDs or other media.

The Top Ten Online Backup Services

There is no dearth of online backup services available in the market. Which among these services are the better ones? While some services provide reliability of the data, other provide cheaper service. Some services provide unique features which can be very helpful in certain cases. Given below there are ten popular online backup servces with their features:

  1. Mozy Beta (http://mozy.com): The beta online backup service provided by Mozy is unique because it provides 2 GB of free data storage. Regular plans begin at $4.95 per month for 30 GB of storage. 
  2. XDrive (http://www.xdrive.com): X drive sports a very refined user interface. It supports scheduled backups, and you can manage your online data so easily as if it resides on your own computer. A unique feature of X drive is that it supports file sharing through passwords.
  3. IBackup (http://www.IBackup.com): IBackup is similar to Xdrive in many aspects but it offers a few additional interesting features. One of them is the snapshot feature which allows you to retrieve files up to ten days old even if you have deleted them. We can schedule incremental backup, differential backup, and full backup. It also works with Apple computers unlike XDrive.
  4. Acpana Data Deposit Box (http://www.datadepositbox.com): Acpana is one of the cheapest options for online file storage for people who don’t want to spend much money in data backup. Acpana also allows incremental real time storage so that data is never lost.
  5. Connected DataProtector (http://www.connected.com): This software has a ‘Heal Wizard’ which helps you restore your system to an earlier point in time if your computer is not working properly. It has a data protector feature which offers storage encryption for secure file backups.
  6. Streamload.com (http://www.streamload.com): Streamload offers you 1 GB of free storage. However, the data is not encrypted and hence it isn’t very secure. Since downloads are restricted to 100 MB per month, it’s not very practical to store huge amounts of data. The service is useful if you want to backup some photos or similar files.
  7. Backup.Com (http://www.backup.com): Backup.com is a commercial backup site that allows data backup at low starting price. This feature is beneficial for people who are interested in casual data backup.
  8. AmeriVault (http://www.AmeriVault.com): AmeriVault is one of the costliest online back service and is meant for large companies. However, the added cost results in email archiving, real time backups and custom designed recovery solutions.
  9. Online-backup (http://www.online-backup.com): Online backup provides a free software to backup your data. It also has various plans and you can select one based on the size of your data.
  10. Copycloud (http://www.copycloud.com): Copycloud is yet another cheaper service. The drawback of this service is that it allows backup from a single computer.