NO Excuses for NO Backups Now!

[Lanarkshire IT Services]

Hi All

Just finished testing this FREE backup program and its amazing.

Easus Todo Backup

Its FREE for both home and business use and supports Windows OS's including 2000, XP, Vista, 7, Server 2000 / 2003 / 2008.

And also includes the ability to create a bootable CD in case you cannot access your backups from within Windows.

So far I cannot find any fault with it and seriously question as to why its FREE.

Nevermind

They even provide a BartPE plugin so you can integrate it into your BartPE / UBCD4WIN boot CD's - For those on the forum who use these.

So far I've managed to get it working from a bootable USB without too much trouble.

Worth checking out BEFORE disaster strikes!

Regards

 

[Gouldie0]

Hi,

I'd highly recommend getting data backups in place for any small business, there was a thread on the forum recently highlighting the failure of ensuring this was in place.

Kind Regards

Neil

 

[Jason]

Hi

Just to make everyone aware that although some backup systems require manual intervention, which means if you either forget to do it or forget to put the tape in, for example, there is another option.

With the advent of higher speed broadband some backup systems can run in the background silently and backup your data to remote sites.

This means that when files are updated or new files created, they are automatically stored off-site, in most cases almost immediately.

This type os backup system is becoming more and more popular and at very low costs.

If anyone is interested in more information, please get in touch.

Regards

Jason
Popcorn Solutions » IT support for home and business users in Edinburgh
'Get the popcorn in!'

 

[Lanarkshire IT Services]

Hi There

Yes what you are refering to is an Online / Remote Backup Solution.

Which is fine for those important file backups but absolutely useless for system recovery as you cannot pull down an OS system image from an online server and recover a system - I wish you could!

Having both system images of OS's / Applications and online file backups are a good way to ensure minimum downtime with full data recovery.

One is pretty useless without the other!

Regards

 

[Jason]

Hi there

I wouldn't agree that one is useless without the other.
Many users would look to recover their documents and email for example.
These files are critical and can be restored onto any PC with a Windows operating system.

It's never a bad thing to back up both occasionally but most system operators would only consider backing up files and data regularly onto tape for example as the OS can be replaced.

Regards

Jason
Popcorn Solutions » IT support for home and business users in Edinburgh
'Get the Popcorn in!'

 

[Lanarkshire IT Services]

Hi there
It's never a bad thing to back up both occasionally but most system operators would only consider backing up files and data regularly onto tape for example as the OS can be replaced.

Regards

Jason
Popcorn Solutions » IT support for home and business users in Edinburgh
'Get the Popcorn in!'

Hi Again

Unless you want spend hours reinstalling OS's and applications then reconfiguring everything I think it is a bad thing to NOT have both.

Regards

 

[stugster]

Yeah, you almost certainly want an image of the drive (at SOME stage) so you can just dump it in.

If you're running a server scenario, then just backing up the server so you keep the domain data is enough - but you also need to have an image of that server and an image of the desktop(s) as well.

Ideally, you're aiming for two key objectives in your data management process:
1: The ability to get the data back, the machines back, and with minimaldata loss
2: The ability to get it all back quickly

 

[Lanarkshire IT Services]

Yeah, you almost certainly want an image of the drive (at SOME stage) so you can just dump it in.

If you're running a server scenario, then just backing up the server so you keep the domain data is enough - but you also need to have an image of that server and an image of the desktop(s) as well.

Ideally, you're aiming for two key objectives in your data management process:
1: The ability to get the data back, the machines back, and with minimaldata loss
2: The ability to get it all back quickly

Yep totally agree

And the software in my original post will meet both key objectives FREE of charge - Provided it is managed well of course!

You could also look at the Acronis range of products for advanced backup / imaging and then have the ability to pull down ready images from a central location - But it ain't cheap or easy on the head!

Regards

 

[IainKay]

Personally I would recommend you create a ghost image of your servers having just configured and set them up with the applications but not configured any settings or added any data.
You could keep this on multiple discs, on a hard drive or network attached storage.

This would allow for you to restore your system and applications very quickly by simply dumping the data as before on to a new hard drive or the same drive if it's still good.

Then for your data you should be using backup software on site to ensure that all configuration and data itself is being copied on to network attached storage locally (want a RAID-1 or Raid-10 array in there).

On top of your localised data storage the data should also be stored off site with a reputable, reliable, remote backup firm.

It doesn't hurt to take the time to manually backup data every month to disc as well and store in fire safe safe.

Keeping all of this done does seem like an effort but the number of hard drives I have seen die in servers alone amounts to over 20 this year! Be safe.

 

[Virtuo]

if you cant be bothered to attempt to do it yourself, or if you need to prioritise you time and focus on your core business I would recommend outsourcing the headache to the guys at Backup Bunker. They have set us up with a domain controller backup, offsite encrypted daily backups and exchange mailbox backups for a very reasonable monthly fee. :laugh: