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Tape backup planning and strategies are a very important part of business continuity and data disaster recovery. From an archival standpoint, tapes offer a convenient method of storage and small footprint for storing offsite or in a fire resistant media safe.
While tape backup does have advantages, there are many cons to tape backup drives and removable media that should be taken into consideration when planning your strategy.
Disadvantages
First of all, tape backup includes a variety of security risks including employee theft, loss, broken tapes due to operator error. Mitigating these data security risks by automating the backup process is a common approach, often using disk based backup to automate the process.
Secondly, the operational recovery from tape has long been in debate. Several research studies suggest that recovery from tapes is not as easy as it seems. Testing tapes to verify that data is recoverable often causes damage to the tape itself rendering it useless for recovery.
The costs associate with a daily, weekly and even monthly tape backup strategy approach $60,000 per business location, per year. While these costs are often unavoidable (especially for large enterprises) there are several new hardware solutions that will both mitigate the data security risks as well as strengthen disaster recovery plans.
New Methods and Approaches
Supplementing or augmenting an off site tape backup strategy with a hard disk or NAS storage server system is quickly becoming the standard. For companies that have already invested heavily into their tape drive systems, replacing new hardware and equipment is usually not feasible in the short term. However, supplementing the tape drive backup with a fire resistant and waterproof hard drive or NAS storage system provides several advantages to a single backup approach.
Deploying ioSafe hardware in an off site or on site tape backup environment provides immediate advantages over traditional tape backup.
Tape and Disk Backup Advantages
Mitigating data security risks - installing ioSafe hardware means you will now be able to automate the backup process and remove the human element from your backup strategy. Human error accounts for more data loss than any other risk. Tape backup means that your IT staff, or other employees must rotate, change, and store backup tapes.
Data recovery and verification from disk has proven time and again that RPO and RTO can be achieved to an "up to the point of disaster." With ioSafe data storage hardware you'll be able to recover your data from today, not last night's tape or last week's data.
When it comes to ROI (return on investment) and overall costs associated with data backup, combining a disk based system means you'll save more money. Even if you still need to do a tape archive of your data, you can now reduce from a daily tape rotation to a weekly - reducing costs of staff as well as equipment.
This belts and suspenders approach to off site tape backup has many advantages for both small and large businesses. As you reevaluate your on site backup plan and your offsite strategy, consider deploying ioSafe technology. After all, data backup is like an insurance policy... how much coverage do you need??
Friday, January 11, 2008
Monday, January 7, 2008
Best Wishes for 2008 Data Storage
As the new year blooms here at our office I am thankful for many things. I have a great job, work with some very great people and have the opportunity to grow with this business. All of my efforts here benefit the entire company, which in turn creates a better future for myself and those around me. For 2008 I created a list that includes some of my favorite pieces of hardware / software and several "wish list" items that I think every technology lover would like to have :)
1) Sophisticated design elements to otherwise bland data storage. Lacie continues to lead the pack and push the envelope of product design when it comes to hard disk drives. From the new Neil Poulton designed USB external drive to the golden disk and lego blocks, business and home digital data storage has never looked so good!
2) Email spam blocker that is easy on the wallet!
Google offers a great spam filtering service for your personal or business email accounts and so does FuseMail.com
3) For the growing enterprise business that needs a belt and suspenders data backup device I like the Disk to Disk to Tape devices from Breece Hill. If you have never heard of this company, they are certainly worth the consideration as you make your storage plans for this new year.
4) Small business Internal or External RAID systems from Accordance Systems
I recently learned about Accordance RAID storage controllers while researching the web for a cost effective solution for a small business client. The ARAID provides small office and home office (SOHO) users with the same level of data protection traditionally only available in large enterprise environments at a fraction of the cost!
5) Off site tape backup supplement from ioSafe data storage hardware.
For business data that needs the best data recovery protection an ioSafe solution installed at your off site or on site facility will ensure broader business continuity protection in the event of a data disaster.
6) Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii with Guitar Hero III
Okay, this has nothing to do with data storage, but in your spare time away from the office it's great fun to let your inner rock star shine! If you have never played this game before you should at least try the demo at your local retailer - so much fun!
1) Sophisticated design elements to otherwise bland data storage. Lacie continues to lead the pack and push the envelope of product design when it comes to hard disk drives. From the new Neil Poulton designed USB external drive to the golden disk and lego blocks, business and home digital data storage has never looked so good!
2) Email spam blocker that is easy on the wallet!
Google offers a great spam filtering service for your personal or business email accounts and so does FuseMail.com
3) For the growing enterprise business that needs a belt and suspenders data backup device I like the Disk to Disk to Tape devices from Breece Hill. If you have never heard of this company, they are certainly worth the consideration as you make your storage plans for this new year.
4) Small business Internal or External RAID systems from Accordance Systems
I recently learned about Accordance RAID storage controllers while researching the web for a cost effective solution for a small business client. The ARAID provides small office and home office (SOHO) users with the same level of data protection traditionally only available in large enterprise environments at a fraction of the cost!
5) Off site tape backup supplement from ioSafe data storage hardware.
For business data that needs the best data recovery protection an ioSafe solution installed at your off site or on site facility will ensure broader business continuity protection in the event of a data disaster.
6) Xbox 360 or Nintendo Wii with Guitar Hero III
Okay, this has nothing to do with data storage, but in your spare time away from the office it's great fun to let your inner rock star shine! If you have never played this game before you should at least try the demo at your local retailer - so much fun!
Digital Asset Storage for your business
The storage and easy access of digital data and intellectual property for businesses is a crucial element to daily operations and business longevity. Long term digital asset storage on hard disk drives is increasingly popular as storage requirements for even the smallest business are on the increase, while the cost of storage continues to drop.
Maintaining a solid backup plan and strategy for recovery are key elements for any business. One often overlooked aspect is recovery from fire, flood and water damage. ioSafe hardware is unique in that you can backup and storage your digital data into a fireproof USB drive or network attached storage device with the same ease as any other external hardware.
While the costs for fire proof protection are much greater than traditional data storage you will rest assured that your data can be recovered even if the unthinkable happens - a real world fire or flood disaster.
Maintaining a solid backup plan and strategy for recovery are key elements for any business. One often overlooked aspect is recovery from fire, flood and water damage. ioSafe hardware is unique in that you can backup and storage your digital data into a fireproof USB drive or network attached storage device with the same ease as any other external hardware.
While the costs for fire proof protection are much greater than traditional data storage you will rest assured that your data can be recovered even if the unthinkable happens - a real world fire or flood disaster.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Waterproof Hard drive
Preventing Data Loss from Flood, Sprinkler Systems and Fire Hoses
Protecting your business computer systems from water or flood is just as important in business continuity planning as is protecting from fire. As over 90% of fires have water present, data loss from these elements can have a profound effect on business resumption.
A waterproof hard drive is the best hardware to ensure data recovery after sustaining water damage. Backup hardware that has been tested rigorously for protection during flood and complete submersion conditions makes the most sense as you plan your data backup and recovery strategy.
Water Protection Data Backup Strategy
ioSafe USB fire safe hard drives as well as the R4 Network attached storage SATA drives are encapsulated in a waterproof barrier capable of direct immersion in freshwater or saltwater up to 30 feet. When installing backup and recovery hardware in basements, low lying areas or flood zones, having this extra level of waterproof protection is well worth the investment.
Even during a fire situation, the ioSafe hard drives and data backup hardware will protect your data during and after the blaze has been extinguished. The unique engineering of ioSafe hardware makes these products truly unique and special for all aspects of business continuity and disaster recovery.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Data Recovery after a Disaster
Data recovery is a very important aspect for business continuity at businesses of all sizes. No matter if you run your own business from home or work remotely outside of the big city, the possibility of a hard drive crash is inevitable. Proper planning will ensure that you can recover your data from a simple drive crash to even a fire or flood situation.
Backing up your data
Whether you work from a laptop or desktop workstation the first step to data recovery is making sure you have a backup copy of your files. A simple spare hard drive, flash drive or backup DVD or CD is a great place to start. For the best fireproof hard drive protection choose a fire safe USB drive or NAS device.
Storing your backup copy
Once you've made your backup copy you'll need to properly store the information to ensure you can recover your files. If you have a fireproof hard drive this step you've pretty much got covered. However, if you do not have one of these devices it is generally a rule of thumb to store your data offsite in either a bank deposit box, or at least in another location. This will help reduce the risk of total data loss in the event of a fire or flood.
A combination of both on-site and off-site data storage is always the most solid approach. Every business is unique and one plan may work better for you than the other.
Data Recovery Service
Data recovery in some instances can be as simple as reverting to a backup copy from last week or months CD / DVD or tape. In other situations, such as a fire or flood this could mean that more serious steps must be taken to recover your data from your hard disk drive. Data storage hardware like ioSafe comes standard with a data recovery service in the purchase price. However if you have yet to incorporate a complete solution into your backup strategy then you will need to contact a professional service company to assist.
There are many companies who specialize in data recovery and below you will find a fairly comprehensive list:
On Track
Drive Savers
Salvage Data
Data Recovery Group
Vantage
Computer Medic - Ann Arbor, MI
Total Recall (not the movie with Arnold)
CBL data recovery service
ACR Data Recovery
To find a data recovery service company in your state, check out this complete guide:
http://www.datarecoverycompanies.com/stateguide.html
Backing up your data
Whether you work from a laptop or desktop workstation the first step to data recovery is making sure you have a backup copy of your files. A simple spare hard drive, flash drive or backup DVD or CD is a great place to start. For the best fireproof hard drive protection choose a fire safe USB drive or NAS device.
Storing your backup copy
Once you've made your backup copy you'll need to properly store the information to ensure you can recover your files. If you have a fireproof hard drive this step you've pretty much got covered. However, if you do not have one of these devices it is generally a rule of thumb to store your data offsite in either a bank deposit box, or at least in another location. This will help reduce the risk of total data loss in the event of a fire or flood.
A combination of both on-site and off-site data storage is always the most solid approach. Every business is unique and one plan may work better for you than the other.
Data Recovery Service
Data recovery in some instances can be as simple as reverting to a backup copy from last week or months CD / DVD or tape. In other situations, such as a fire or flood this could mean that more serious steps must be taken to recover your data from your hard disk drive. Data storage hardware like ioSafe comes standard with a data recovery service in the purchase price. However if you have yet to incorporate a complete solution into your backup strategy then you will need to contact a professional service company to assist.
There are many companies who specialize in data recovery and below you will find a fairly comprehensive list:
On Track
Drive Savers
Salvage Data
Data Recovery Group
Vantage
Computer Medic - Ann Arbor, MI
Total Recall (not the movie with Arnold)
CBL data recovery service
ACR Data Recovery
To find a data recovery service company in your state, check out this complete guide:
http://www.datarecoverycompanies.com/stateguide.html
Fire Safe USB Hard Drives
Sentry Group has recently teamed up with Maxtor to develop their own version of a fire resistant and waterproof USB hard drive. This truly validates the market on many levels for other manufacturers of similar storage devices.
This new product by Sentry Group comes in at a very attractive price for the consumer level use. With storage capacity limited at 160GB the product won't be sufficient for business and enterprise use, however it is great to see that other safe manufacturers understand the value and support further development of the market.
The full press release can be found here:
http://www.sentrysafe.com/content/news.aspx
This new product by Sentry Group comes in at a very attractive price for the consumer level use. With storage capacity limited at 160GB the product won't be sufficient for business and enterprise use, however it is great to see that other safe manufacturers understand the value and support further development of the market.
The full press release can be found here:
http://www.sentrysafe.com/content/news.aspx
Enterprise Data Storage: Servers and Hardware
Enterprise level storage at many levels has traditionally been quite complicated. Take your exchange servers, file servers, and domain and user group sharing security issues and toss in your DR strategy and we're talking lots of equipment, lots of dollar signs and plenty of headaches.
Enterprise Storage Hardware Simplified.
Step 1. Deploy ioSafe NAS server
Step 2. Enjoy enterprise class features, remote administration, flexibility in mixed environments all in a fireproof and waterproof aircraft black box for disaster recovery.
Step 3. Look at your bottom line cost savings for administration, mitigated security risks associated with tape and DR plan that meets business goals as your company moves forward.
Step 4. High five your consistently happy boss.
ioSafe hardware alloys the enterprise to rapidly deploy simple DR / data storage / backup hardware at remote and branch offices without the headache or hassle of tape.
Enterprise Storage Hardware Simplified.
Step 1. Deploy ioSafe NAS server
Step 2. Enjoy enterprise class features, remote administration, flexibility in mixed environments all in a fireproof and waterproof aircraft black box for disaster recovery.
Step 3. Look at your bottom line cost savings for administration, mitigated security risks associated with tape and DR plan that meets business goals as your company moves forward.
Step 4. High five your consistently happy boss.
ioSafe hardware alloys the enterprise to rapidly deploy simple DR / data storage / backup hardware at remote and branch offices without the headache or hassle of tape.
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