Data Backup Solutions For Cheltenham
Back Up - Back Up - Back Up !
This is a mantra you must adopt because at some point, your hard drives will fail and when they do, data recovery is not guaranteed.
A solid backup solution is, for all intents and purposes, mandatory.
There are all sorts of scenarios whereby your data needs to be recovered: Unintentional deletion of data, Intentional deletion of data (by disgruntled employee), Virus Infections, Hard Drive Failures, Server Failure, Theft of hardware, Fires, Floods and various other disasters. It's not a rosey picture.
At some point, data will need to be recovered and without a backup, that is going to be:
- Difficult
- Expensive
- Not Guaranteed
Can you afford to lose your company data including your emails ? Probably not, and so we can help advise and implement a backup solution that makes the loss of data extremely unlikely.
Backup Types
Single external USB drive
A single external USB drive connected to a machine in order to perform the backup. Requires user intervention which means it often gets forgotten and often stays within the office instead of being taken off-site. The constant plugging in and unplugging of the USB drive can often cause it to fail.
Rotating external USB drives
Two or more drives the same but get rotated every other day. Drive 1 on Monday, Drive 2 on Tuesday, Drive 3 on Wednesday and so on. Drives are often not rotated due to user error, drives prone to failure. If the person responsible falls sick, the backup drives might not get returned in order to do the backups - same for holidays and so on.
Tape Drives
Tapes used to be a common method of backing up data but not half as much these days, especially with NAS devices and off-site backups
Specialist backup software is configured to back up certain files and folders and at a given time each day. Data is then copied to the tape which is then rotated with another tape and taken off-site or locked in a fire-proof safe; at least that's the idea. It's a "proven" method and many IT professionals implement this option but as with the external drives, this generally requires human intervention. Again, a person can forget to change the tapes or take them off-site. There is the potential for that person to lose the tapes - maybe leave their bag in a taxi, restaurant, bar and so on. Tapes are also perishable and can be more difficult to get data from in case of an emergency.
Tape drives often need a special card inside the server to enable fast transfer of data and a good Tape Drive can cost thousands of pounds.
NAS or SAN
A NAS is a Network Attached Storage and a SAN is a Storage Area Network. The former is a cost effective means of backing up data as it requires no intervention from a user. The NAS contains 1 or more hard drives and is located anywhere on the network. Software then backups up the data to that device on a pre-determined schedule. A SAN is very similar but designed for large enterprises.
The NAS backup solution is very good but not taken off-site so it is still open to theft, fire and so on and so we like to couple it with:
Off-Site / Cloud Backups
Coupled with a NAS backup, backups are sent off-site to our secure backup servers in cheltenham which are protected by a Watchguard Firewall. This method is by far the most efficient and comprehensive backup type. The NAS, on-site backup, allows for fast recovery of data and the off-site acts as an emergency in case the on-site NAS gets stolen, gets damaged by fire or water or fails.
The added benefit of using our Cheltenham Based Backup Servers is that we can get your data to you a lot faster than using a server in an unknown location. Should your data need recovering quickly, we can offer two options:
- Download your data to an external drive and deliver it to your location
- Provide remote access to your data for immediate access should work flow be critical.
Other Requirements
Good backup software is important for a good and reliable backup solution. Basic backup software can backup data but not an Exchange Database or SQL database etc. Therefore software from companies such as Computer Associates or Symantec offer comprehensive backup software which enables you to control what is backed up and when.