Making Perfect Copies for Archiving Backup Files

[ekrouse]

I need ideas on reliable ways of copying monthly backups for archival purposes.

Background: One of the "hats" I wear at work is to oversee IT. I utilize a local firm to do all the complex stuff that is beyond our capabilities. Based on their recommendation we use Symantec Backup Exec to backup the server and our datawarehouse nightly using a series of portable hard drives (WD MyBooks) instead of tapes. We create full backups, not incremental. We have 4 drives for Mon - Thurs and 5 drives for Fridays.

My goal is to have a drive at home and once a month copy a Friday backup onto it. I have been told that this won't work because copying somehow corrupts the file. I am told that it must be an original backup. I don't want to bring the archive drive into the office and then leave it there overnight to have an original created since that defeats the purpose of having backups offsite.

While I am open to any suggestions, my thought is there must be some great, yet simple software that can make an EXACT backup (same folder create dates, etc). Whenever I look into things long enough I can usually find great solutions that my professionals are unaware of, but haven't had any success so far.

Thanks,

ekrouse

 

[SteveRoadWarrior]

If your local support team engineered this solution, ask them what method they want you to use for offsite backups. A reputable company would have built this into their solution.

To answer your question directly, windows file copy drag and drop will copy the files from the onsite NAS to the one you bring in from home. Stopping the Backup Services will prevent the Backup software from trying to use these files while they're being copied. Obviously, this can only be done while no jobs are running or your current backup job will not complete properly.

I can appreciate the difficulties in finding solutions for certain problems as the research time is expensive for everyone involved.

If you're willing to put in the effort, the Backup Exec manual is very well written and the software solution is very feature rich. It does support duplicating a backup job's information as part of a backup schedule. You may wish to read up on your software, then bounce your ideas off your IT vendor. They're going to be in a better position to foresee potential problems in your setup than either of us.

 

[ekrouse]

Thanks Steve. I actually plan on taking the onsite NAS home and copying it there. Any software you recommend as being better than windows explorer (drag & drop) for making more exact copies?

-Eric

 

[SteveRoadWarrior]

some free file copy programs are:
xcopy - DOS, included in most Windows
robocopy - DOS, available from Microsoft
SyncToy - Graphical, available from Microsoft
unstoppable copier - Graphical

Other users may have other favorite programs.