Real-Time Computer Backup

A Backup Article Contributed by Melissa Larose

Real-Time Computer Backup

Data protection through computer backup is one of the most important process in a technology laden business enterprise today. Data protection is a top priority all over the world and the software and processes used to fulfill that priority are constantly being improved upon.

Computer Backup Options

Loss of business is a costly event. Loss of data and the destruction that can some times accompany it are just as costly. Traditionally a computer backup plan required data files to be backed up to a separate media than the hard drive and then stored elsewhere. These routines provided data backup when files were lost or corrupted.

The process of computer backup moved forward to include copying whole systems. This increased the speed and cost of a computer recovery. The idea of mirroring the system became incorporated into software backup packages and the change in backup routine has streamlined data protection.

The timing of computer backup has changed also. IT use to be that computer backup was accomplished in the slower hours of the day, usually at night, and was run as a batch process. Now, with the advent of new software and new thinking on the topic, computer backup can be run automatically, anytime day or night, and usually as a background process.

Computer Backup 24/7

The advantage of computer backup 24/7 is pretty obvious. Your data is backed up to include everything that has happened to the last second before a crash. That means no data loss. But is this truly possible? Have things come this far and are the capabilities there to make this really happen. Well it depends on who you talk to.

The huge costs, extra resources required and reliability are probably the three main reasons most companies will not see 24/7 computer backup for some time. The process itself is intricate and demands a high level of advanced techniques. But the process still requires manual intervention and monitoring to detect failure. These activities cost money and do not improve an infrastructure in any way.

Many computer backup software companies are claiming 24/7 or virtual backup. This occurs through a logging system that only records operations performed on the data. When s system is recovered the log puts the data where it was at the time of the crash. It never touches the original data.

Computer Backup Glitches

So a real-time computer backup has its share of problems like any other backup process. It requires manual intervention, which diverts time and cost that could be spent on other more constructive projects. It has a probability of failure at the storage system level. These systems can die, catch fire, or be sabotaged. The real-time computer backup process can also be subject to network failure in the form of a connection crash or a parts failure.

The truth about real-time computer backup is that it can fail. If the data is unavailable, the backup is meaningless and our 24/7 world can come crashing down.