Why Use Onsite Backup

At Geek-Guru we always recommend at least one form of onsite backup. Onsite backup is, as the name suggests, any backup system where the data is backed up to a local media set. This media set is connected to your servers, either directly, such as a tape drive, or indirectly over the LAN, such as a networked hard drive (Whilst we always recommend taking at least one media set offsite each night, we still class this as on-site backup as the backup process occurs on-site).

On-site backup allow you to backup large quantities of data quickly and this has some major advantages. Next month we'll show you the benefits of automated offsite backup, but broadband speeds in the UK still prohibit the backup of entire servers to remote backup sites. On-site backup enables you to produce a full 'image' of your servers allowing very fast and easy recovery if you were to loose an entire server.

If the worst should happen

To give you an example lets say that you have a major virus outbreak and your primary domain server is lost. That server contains all the records and software that control your network and without it your network would no longer function.

Without a full image of that server you would need to create your entire infrastructure from scratch. Even if you had a backup of your individual business documents you would still be looking at several days downtime whilst the system was configured again and each PC was manually rejoined to the new server.

With a full image of the server the infrastructure can be made operational again in a matter of minutes (allowing for the acquisition of new hardware). As the server appears to be the same as the old one the new server would slot in and be operational immediately.

What to use for onsite backup

Unlike some IT, backup technologies haven't moved on much in the last 10 years. Here is our lowdown on the various options:

• Tape - For years tape drives have been the medium of choice for most businesses and in many circumstances we still recommend them. Tapes themselves are cheap, which means you can operate a larger backup set, and they are light and easy to take offsite. The drawback is that tape drives are expensive and they are prone to a higher failure rate as they involve exposed mechanical parts. Because of this they are falling out of favour in some circles.

• USB Drives - USB drives are more expensive than tapes but less expensive when you factor in the cost of the tape drive. They are rugged and reliable and as of Server 2008 are quickly becoming the medium of choice. They come in a range of sizes and with data densities growing each year you can now get 500GB on a 2.5" drive.

• NAS Devices - NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are basically hard drives with a network card stuck on the back. They can be accessed across the LAN like any other mapped drive and can be used for onsite backup. As they are always attached to the LAN they are completely automated and require little user intervention. However, because they are always attached they can't be taken offsite and therefore we don't recommend using them as the only backup.

• Pen Disks - Pen disks are great for backups of small amounts of data (such as Sage data) and because of this they have their place in the overall backup policy. However, they are too small to allow image backups of servers and also pose a security risk if data is not encrypted.

• Hybrid (Disk-Disk-Tape) - Hybrid systems combine two or more of the above systems to provide the best of multiple media types. These are the most expensive systems to implement but do offer significant benefits. There are too many options to go in to in this newsletter but rest assured we're here if you need any further advice.

Next week we'll be looking at the exciting field of online backup and introducing you to a cutting edge backup product that we ourselves have designed and built in house.

Until then, stay safe, stay backed-up!

Just as important as the backup media you choose is the software used to perform the backup.

Server 2003 came with the now infamous NTBackup software and we always recommended that this was replaced with something more suitable.

Our software of choice has always been Symantec Backup Exec and whilst this software has it's idiosyncrasies we still believe it's one of the best value packages on the market.

With the advent of Server 2008 the situation has changed somewhat. NTBackup has been replaced with a fairly capable backup suite that performs image and file level backups to external drives.

Whilst many clients will still find the bundled backup software too 'lightweight' we have found it to be fairly capable and as such are using it with a number of clients.

As with all these topics. If it doubt, as the experts!

For more info please e-mail us or call the office on 0845 234 0580