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Welcome To
The Better Systems Podcast!
 
March 13, 2010 Show Notes (PodcastIT007):
"How should I backup my computer?"
That really depends on how important your files are. If you have
files that you can recreate or files that have no meaning to you,
then you have no reason to do backups. However, if you have files
that are irreplaceable, such as photos, then you should have some
type of backup plan.
The best way to do backups is to follow the 3, 2, 1 rule. The "3"
means that you have three copies of your important files, the "2"
means that you have two separate media types. Lastly, the "1" means
that you have one set of backups off site. Now let's discuss these
further.
You should have three copies of your important files. That is one
original and two backups. Copying your original files to a network
drive and then deleting the original does not constitute a backup.
This is very important as this is how some people picture a backup
copy. Very popular areas to make your backups are on a network
drive, a USB attached drive, burned on to CD/DVDs and on an online
service that automatically makes backups by uploading your files via
the internet. Any two of these, along with the original on your hard
drive, would be a good choice to follow the "3" rule.
Having your files on two different formats is the "2" rule. Some
people make a backup copy on the very same drive they have their
original files. This is a bad idea because if your hard drive fails,
you lost both your original and your backup. You can use a CD or DVD
media to do this with and that would fulfill your "2" rule. At a
minimum, although not technically not a different media type, you
can use a USB or firewire connected drive to backup your files as
well. This allows you to be able to grab your drive and leave if
there is an emergency.
This brings is the the "1" rule. You must have one offsite copy of
your backup. Find a friend and swap CD or DVD backups with them once
a week. Put a copy in your safe deposit box. Use an online service
to do a remote backup. When doing these backups, you will need to
understand the reason why. If you have a fire, your offsite backup
is OK as it is at a separate place. However, if you have hurricane,
tornado, or flood that may not be good enough. Think about this
before making your final choice.
Better Systems Tech Tip:
For Houston Outsource, we backup to a USB connected drive on our
main server computer to backup all of our important files. We use
SYNCBACK to automate our
backup process from our networked computers to this USB connected
drive (just the important files are backed up). We suggest using the
freeware version. We also make an image of all our individual
computer hard drives onto DVD disks. For the image we use
MACRIUM REFLECT, which
has a free option as well, and is fairly easy to use. Finally, we
use
BACKBLAZE for our online
backup that will also backup our USB connected drive - other online
services do not do this. Our backup plan covers all aspects of the
3, 2, 1 Rule. Does yours?
(Truth In Advertising Disclaimer: We asked to partner with BackBlaze
and are part of their affiliate program and will soon be part of
their reseller program - so, when you click on our BackBlaze links,
we get a little back from them to help with our Blogging and
Podcasting sites).
Check Out Our Other Show Notes!
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