SERVER DISASTER

After long hard experience in losing valuable data has I have identified the 7 most important features you need from a data back up server These are

· Backup Servers are usually for business that have 5 or more computers

· Can run on every day computer equipment

· Must backup Mac Windows Linux and Unix server and workstations

· Easy to use interface to administer and to restore files and data

· Robust stable and reliable

· Must be able to backup every computer every day

· Must grow with your business

· Must use removable and inexpensive disk drive to store offsite

· There are many backup solutions out there but if they dont do all the above you are running the risk of losing data or spending more time than you want to managing you backups

· The worst feeling of all is restoring from a backup only to realise that you have not flagged that particular file to be backed up The only solution is to backup every file every day and keep this archive for as long as you need

When you are running business its vital that you have a copy of all your computers basic installations If a computer fails it can take up to a week to re install the operating system and all the software Its just easier The other reason is you never really know which file you are going to need If you use selective backup schemes it you always run the risk of leaving out something vital Plus you cant control where you staff will put vital files no matter how often you tell them

Must Backup Different Types of Computers

Most businesses have a number of different computers to meet their requirements Macs are often used by your creative team you may have Unix Linux and Windows servers for you operations or specialist applications and PCs for general clerical and finance You have to be able to back up every computer you own

Use standard PC Hardware

Your backup server must run using standard PC hardware Only large corporates can afford specialist hardware to manage backups If you backup server is made from a PC you can get a your local computer shop then the cost is lower and it is easy to fix

Must be Robust And Reliable

You backup system must operate 24 7 and be very reliable The last thing you need to have to restart you backup server every other day or have it fail

Easy To use Interface

You need an easy to use interace to administer the system Users should be able to go to the bakup server and download the files they need Automatic backups and email notifications are also essential

Backup your Backup

Backup server must have a removable hard disk system to store your backup off site The backup server with smart backup software can keep 6 months backups for you whole company on a single 320 gb hard disk

Alternatively you can backup the back to an online storage area This depends on the cost of storage

Must Grow with your Business

As your business grows So does your information Its more like data explosion If your backup system can grow with your business then you elimate the cost of pruchasing another system to handle the load You just expand you existing one

Backup Systems That Meet this Criteria

A backup system that can backup every computer you own Macs PCs Windows Linux and Unix servers Everything is automatically backed up every day so you dont have to worry about trying to figure out which files to save This is the ultimate small business backup solution and will grow with your company from 5 to 250 PCs By using a clever technique only files that changed get backed up All the other files are kept as a virtual copy for that day The software runs on a deadicated server PC that you can buy from your local Computer shop The server shown is for small businesses The software will also run on rack mounted servers for larger organizations

DriveImage XML Backup your whole PC for Disaster Recovery

DriveImage XML is an easy to use and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives

The program allows you to

· Backup logical drives and partitions to image files

· Browse these images view and extract files

· Restore these images to the same or a different drive

· Copy directly from drive to drive

· Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler

Image creation uses Microsofts Volume Shadow Services VSS allowing you to create safe hot images even from drives currently in use

Images are stored in XML files allowing you to process them with 3rd party tools Never again be stuck with a useless backup

Restore images to drives without having to reboot

DriveImage XML runs under Windows XP Home XP Professional and Windows Server 2003 only The program will backup image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12 16 32 and NTFS