Basic Question

[DaKlute]

I am a co-owner of a four person non-IT consulting shop. We have four PC's all hooked into a LAN for storage using one machines 20 GB HD as the server. However, we have no back-up system, which is the point of my post.

I am looking for some basic dirction on what to consider. I have found several tape back-up systems but they seem pricier than I want, bigger than I need and more work than we want. I have found some resources on mirroring but am concerned about potential for data corruption. Also, I found Snap Servers - while they seem more storage related, their back-up capacity seems interesting. However, I struggle with size of the drive, adequacy, etc.

Any and all direction is appreciated.

Chris

 

[2ffat]

I would start with breaking your question up into 2 parts. "What are my hardware needs" and "What are my software needs."

It looks like you are centered on hardware. From the size of your LAN you probably don't need an expensive tape changer. DAT, DLT, etc. tape dirves are fairly inexpensive and reliable. They will be limted by the speed of you LAN (for throughput), size of the tape, etc.

The hardware won't work without programs to back the data up. Most likely, the software that comes with your server or PC just won't cut it for business. The type of software you will need will depend on your LAN, server OS, PCs' OS. Look at companies like Symantecs, Veritas, Computer Associates, etc.

My advice, for what its worth, is plan for the future and don't skimp on your backup needs! Get hardware that will supply your needs for at least 2-3 years. If you are planning on adding and replacing any stations or servers, you will want to add that to your backup without scrapping everything. Next, your backup is your lifeline. Don't try to save money at the expense of your data. More that one company has gone under when it couldn't restore its business files after a failure. If you can afford to do mirroring and a tape backup, do both. If not, do a (tape) backup and store the tape offsite, in a fire/water-proof safe, or some place very safe. By the way, check with your insurance company, some insurers offer premium discounts if you follow their recommendations.
James P. Cottingham

I am the Unknown lead by the Unknowing.
I have done so much with so little
for so long that I am now qualified
to do anything with nothing.

 

[ag100]

Hi,

James gave some VERY good advice. Another thing to consider would be establishing a tape retention policy for your backups. How many tapes will you need to purchase based on disk capacity and growth? How long will the tapes be held for? If you don't notice data loss for a month, and all the tapes from that period have been overwritten, what's the impact?

Just another thing to consider...

Good Luck!

-ag100

 

[cgwillard]

Don't forget to consider storing data off-site. In case of fire, would you want to have a backup of your data in a bank deposit box or other off-site location? If so, how recent would you want that backup to be? We take the end-of-the-month backup tape to the bank each month in case of disaster.

We have used a Cybernetix CY-8000 backup tape drive, using Sony AIT tapes. That's a single drive backup device, and I don't think they're very expensive.

We also use a Snap server, but not for backups. The biggest disadvantage to a Snap server is that you can't store your data off-site. Also, I don't know that you can use it to store multiple backups (maybe someone else can help with that). I think of it more as a way to protect your data (RAID) than to make a backup and store it there.

Good luck.

 

[2ffat]

<OFF-TOPIC>
cgwillard,
[TAB]How do you like the CY-8000? I've been looking at them (and others by that company) but can't decide how good they are. What is your input?

James P. Cottingham

I am the Unknown lead by the Unknowing.
I have done so much with so little
for so long that I am now qualified
to do anything with nothing.

 

[cgwillard]

I've been happy with it. We have two separate drives, and they can act as one group or individually. Individual drives give us the option to run two backup jobs. Having one group will allow the job to run over onto the tape in the 2nd drive. Either configuration has benefits.

We never had hardware trouble with them - except for a couple of bad tapes (not the drive's fault). They run as fast as the Exabyte EZ17 we just purchased, and I would gladly recommend either.

 

[DaKlute]

Thank you all very much for your help. We are currently leaning to two options: 1) buying the Snap Server and using the RAID function to mirror our data while backing it up onto a CD on at least bi-weekly basis; or, 2) leasing off-site server space that will back-up the data on a weekly basis.

Both have a degree of expandability, require minimal attention (remember, we aren't techies), are affordable and are flexible enough to accomodate our planned/anticipated growth over the next few years.

I would appreciate any comments you have on either of these optins.

Chris