Re: Best Backup Practices
- From: "James" <nospam>
- Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 09:44:32 -0500
I really appreciate the insight I am getting from this group and I am
learning...slowly:) I thought tape backups were the *old* way of doing
things. Now I am finding out here that they are still the best way. Assuming
I get a reasonably good tape system in the $600-900 range will it be faster,
more reliable and easier to administer than some other system?
Leythos, you said "for double the cost you get less problems, less chance of
faulting the
server, smaller media, easier to store in the safety deposit box..."
I don't want to overspend (on anything) but if I do, here is where I should.
I still need advice on a brand(s), capacity and an estimate of the life of a
tape drive. (If I can count on the drive to last, say 3 years, then I can
estimate our growth, buy one that will handle the growth and then plan to
replace it with a new larger one.)
$900/36 months=$25 mo. seems reasonable to me but only if it solves all the
potential problems (other than operator error) that my business could face
in the event of a virus, HD crash, fire or theft, etc.
Finally, is the ntbackup in SBS Premium with SP-1 adequate or should I look
at something like Veritas or EMS/Dantz Retrospect? Thanks for all the help.
"Leythos" <void@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:MPG.1d778cd283e6d30c989d0f@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> In article <uQ05GQXqFHA.2816@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> mwport@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says...
>> I should have stated that the reason you use alternating backup devices
>> is
>> so that you can move one of them offsite each night. Of course, a tape
>> backup system would be easier to handle (tapes easier to handle) but I
>> got
>> the impression that cost was an issue for you and tape systems are more
>> expensive than a couple of external USB hard drives. Of course, any
>> bi-weekly or monthly archive of a backup on a third external drive should
>> be
>> moved offsite for safety.
>
> Which brings us back tapes being a very good method - as you don't have
> to reconnect/disconnect anything from the server which risks a fault or
> other problem.
>
> Sure, tape is more expensive if you buy quality - a tape system will
> cost about $600 to $900 with tapes if you purchase a SCSI based tape
> backup system for the server. At the same time, three USB/Firewire
> drives will cost about $300 to $450 depending on size and quality - so,
> for double the cost you get less problems, less chance of faulting the
> server, smaller media, easier to store in the safety deposit box...
>
>> As for imaging your server, that can be a good idea after major software
>> installs such as line of business apps or Service Packs. It can even be
>> incorporated into a daily scheme. This will allow faster recovery if you
>> need to flatten the server. Some of the MVPs have been testing Paragon's
>> Drive Backup for live (daily) imaging. Reports are that the $50 product
>> seems to work fine with SBS 2003. However, it won't yet handle dynamic
>> disks so if you're using RAID1 software mirroring, you'll have to look
>> for a
>> different product.
>>
>> Paragon Drive Backup
>> http://www.drive-backup.com/
>
> I've used Ghost 2003 to image and restore Servers with hardware RAID-1
> and RAID-5 arrays.
>
>> As for the desktops, keep things simple. Force your users to store ALL
>> data
>> files that they create on the SBS server in their user folders or in
>> shared
>> folders where it can be backed up daily and where Volume Shadow Copy can
>> keep a versioning history of revisions to files. This can be done
>> through
>> the use of written policies, training, and/or roaming profiles or folder
>
> Redirect the My Documents folder to the server also - this makes just
> about all of their data stored on the server.
>
>> redirection. I wouldn't back up or image the desktop OSs unless you have
>> a
>> specific reason. What you want to do is have all data on the server so
>> that, if a workstation goes down, a user can hop on another workstation
>> and
>> be up and running again quickly. Now, they won't see their original
>> profile
>> (desktop, Internet Explorer Favorities, shortcut), unless you're using
>> roaming profiles, but they can do their job until you either get the
>> original workstation rebuilt or install a replacement. Disaster recovery
>> is
>> as much about creating a good user as it is about creating a good backup.
>
> Since the most common reason for fault in a workstation is the drive
> going bad, if you ghost an Image of the drive and keep it on the server,
> you can quickly restore that image and get the machine back up and
> running in little time - you don't have to backup the workstation
> images. In many cases the cost of Ghost and time to image can be
> recouped after the first failure.
>
>
> --
>
> spam999free@xxxxxxxxxx
> remove 999 in order to email me
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- References:
- Best Backup Practices
- From: James
- Re: Best Backup Practices
- From: Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]
- Re: Best Backup Practices
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- Re: Best Backup Practices
- From: Merv Porter [SBS-MVP]
- Re: Best Backup Practices
- From: James
- Re: Best Backup Practices
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