What is the Best Backup System?

A Backup Article Contributed by Kris Metzger

What are the different backup systems?

When you talk about all of the different backup systems, you can find numerous answers. The floppy disk is a good one to speak of. It has been around for a very long time. It is widely used in homes and businesses and was actually a replacement for the 5 1/2 disk. The 5 1/2 was bendable and didn't hold near as much information. Also, part of the information disk inside was exposed. They weren't actually a bad backup system, but maybe less reliable.

The zip drive is a good upgrade to the floppy if you need more space and it has a better quality. The magnetic coating, which is similar to a hard drive, is a bit better. CD's are another good upgrade, if you need more space. However, some find the DVD to be an even better backup system. It has digital capabilities and holds the most space of any. Regardless of your choice, any of these are a good reliable backup system.

Backup system - Which is best?

If you want to argue about it, the DVD might have to be called the best form of backup media, although some others weren't mentioned above. A good backup system with DVD might just be the best, but is it the most economical? Let's compare them? A floppy costs maybe a dollar or less and will hold several small files. It will actually hold an entire book, up to about 100,000 words or more. The zip drive holds a lot more information. Actually, about fifty times as much or more with the larger zips.

It would hold about fifty books of 100,000 words, but they cost a lot more. The CD is about a dollar and holds about 750 MB. That is about three times the information of the largest zip. The DVD holds between 14 4 billion and 18 8 billion bytes of information, plus is has digital capabilities. It is about three to four times a CD's space. When you get that high, it would have to be considered the best. However, every form of media mentioned, makes a good backup system.

Not a single one of them could be considered as bad. It just depends upon which you prefer.

Backup system - Are there others?

Of course, there are other backup systems. The tape drive is the oldest type around. A lot of larger businesses still use them. They have kept up with technology for the last fifty years. Whenever an upgrade was needed, it was done. Online backup might be considered by some to be the best. It can sometimes completely eliminates the backup media idea. A larger business could save a lot of money in time too. With some, backups are automatic.

Some of them also have a bank grade encryption that has never been penetrated. At any rate backup is the key to success. Use it or maybe you might just lose it?