Backup Your Data!
I have been a user and a developer of Alpha Software products since 1990. I started with their DOS version and I am currently using their ground-breaking product, Alpha Five v6. How often should you backup your data? Where should you backup your data? What should you do with the backup data?
by Ray Roosa
Like most of you, I have my own sad story about lost data. I had spent 18 months developing an application using Alpha Five. One day it was work as usual. I was doing backups to tape and working all day. After many long, productive hours, I did what I always do - I shut down the computer and took the tape off site.
The next morning I turned my computer on, only to find it would not boot up (ouch!). After fiddling around for two hours, I gave up. I figured I would re-install Windows and then restore my tapes. After doing that, everything would be all right. Right? WRONG! My tapes were bad. The only good tape I had was from one month before. I had lost 240 hours of work!
While backing up data might seem obvious, there are three questions you should ask yourself:
The answer to the first question is pretty easy by asking yourself this question - how much work are you willing to lose? Of course, the idealistic answer would be "none," but this means doing backups continuously. This is indeed possible (see the end of the article for more info).
Short of doing continuous backups, you have to determine how often you want to take a break from your work and backup your data. This is directly related to the second question.
You need to have a second location for your backup data. This could be a floppy disk, CD, zip disk, tape, second computer, or a backup service. Let's talk about each briefly.
A floppy disk is the old standby. It's easy to copy to a floppy, easy to carry the data off site, but they don't hold much data. If you're doing some word processing, using a floppy as a backup is probably sufficient. However, trying to backup your Alpha app wouldn't work.
CD's hold a lot more data, so this is a viable option for nearly every type of data (and easy to carry off site). However, it's not as easy to backup to a CD - depending on your operating system and software, writing to a CD ranges from quite convenient to not worth the trouble.
Zip disks are as easy to use as a floppy disk (once you set it up the first time), easy to carry off site, and hold much more data than a floppy. However, not everyone has a zip drive.
Tape backups used to be quite popular, and they hold a lot of data. However, restoring the data from the tape is not at all convenient. While they are also easy to carry off site, they aren't very reliable (as my story above shows).
A second computer is a nice alternative (if you have one, of course). You can set it up on a network, and then backup to that computer (it's also a great way to test networking issues). However, unless you have a laptop, it's definitely not easy to carry off site.
Finally, backup services on the Internet are becoming more popular (more on this later).
Now, to answer the third question - what should you do with your backup data? Well, there are two primary reasons for doing a backup - having a copy in case your hard drive fails, and having a copy in the event of a catastrophe, such as a fire or flood. Satisfying the second requirement means that, after you make a backup, you should take that data to a different location (it won't do you much good if you have a fire, and the backup data is right next to your computer, being burned at the same time). Obviously, some of the backup methods mentioned above are easier to move than others.
OK, then what's the best method? That all depends on you, and how you work. But something that seems to be universal is that you're more likely to backup your data frequently if the method you use is easy. If it's not, you'll gradually use it less and less often - until you have a data meltdown!
So, find a method that works easily for you, and one that isn't a bother to do on a regular basis. You will be glad you did a backup someday!
Online Backup services are set up to let you upload your data either in real time (virtually a continuous backup), or on a scheduled basis. The real-time backup lets you upload your data as you work (if you have a dial-up modem, or you are disconnected from the Internet, the data is stored in a cache on your hard drive, and then uploaded the next time you connect to the internet).
Sending your data to a backup service has the advantage of storing your data off-site (for a fee, of course). This can also be quite convenient, as long as you have a reliable Internet connection (if you have dial-up, and frequently lose your connection, this might not be your best option).
For more information on these services, you can contact me at
info@livebackup.net, or call our toll free number (877) 4 RAYLIN. If you use the priority code ALP01, you will be eligible for a 20% discount on the service.