Advantages and Problems with Online Backup Systems
A Backup Article Contributed by Andrew Whitehead
Why to Have an Online Backup System
Having an online backup system will save your day should your premises ever burn down, or the fireproof box containing your backup disks get stolen.
The easiest means of backing up online is to set up a leased line to a remote server, and transfer data to it at whatever interval you think appropriate. This requires extra hardware and is an obvious non-starter for a company that works from only one site, but luckily there are various third parties
that offer an online backup service.
Features of Online Backup Services
They all work in basically the same manner. You rent server space and, subject to a few terms to keep obscenity out, upload anything they wish. You can restore online, or by paying for a CD of everything you have stored on the third party's server. Compression, wizards to help manage your backup files, and encryption are all standard services. The companies themselves are unable to unencrypt your data so your security is not be compromised. They usually employ military-strength encryption so that even if your files are intercepted in transit they remain indecipherable.
Most are able to upload only elements of a file that have been changed instead of the entire file. This is particularly important in corporate environments to avoid bandwidth problems. Many have virus checking as standard, drag and drop interfaces are becoming increasingly popular, and many online backup companies allow backups to be resumed if the connection is lost.
Things to Beware of with Online Backups
Some companies will only allow one initial complete backup of a hard drive, but as the time taken for the first backup of even an average PC can exceed 24 hours this may not bother you. Portability between systems can be an issue in some cases, and System Administrators may be concerned about bottle necking. So far, no online backup companies have found a way to backup files that are in use at the time.
Careful thought should be given to what is backed up. It is unlikely that application files will be retrievable from a backup, they usually need to be installed using their own programs. Some applications use their own archiving feature with a restore command that will not import data from another file. Basically any files that have been altered by an employee become unique to that individual computer
and as such should be backed up while files that are restorable through other means, from existing installation discs for instance, do not need backing up.
It is worth checking that the original data files to be backed up are filed in a logical way, because many online backup services duplicate the original file structure. A confusing file structure or files with obscure names can get in the way of a clean restore. This can be complicated when applications store information in files with unintelligible names or obscure locations by default; email programs seem to be the worst culprits for doing this.
