Cheap & Effective Back-up Options

FoolishMcNasty

Senior member
Feb 20, 2002
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What would be the best back-up option for a small office (all Windows boxes in a workgroup, less than 10 total) that use a Quantum snap server? I need recommendations of software, back-up device, & media.

Thanks in advance...
 

Migroo

Diamond Member
Jul 14, 2001
4,488
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We've found that Windows Backup (manual action) + DAT tapes isnt good enough as all it will backup network shares but does not cope with Linux systems (like our Sun Cobalts). Windows backup will backup network shares (ie: your Snapserver) so it could be ideal for you as long as you are willing to backup manually...

We're looking at Arkeia as it is automated backup, not sure if that helps you, but we plan to put it on a Linux machine :)
 

HalfCrazy

Senior member
Oct 3, 2001
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You could use NortonGhost or DriveImage to make a image of the hdd's. I use DriveImage my self to backup my hdd's. If something goes wrong it take me like 15mins to get my system up and running again. ;) You could also just use the network and transfer the data to a system just for backup need's.
 

FoolishMcNasty

Senior member
Feb 20, 2002
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I was hoping for some sort of back-up solution; something that could do daily incremental and weekly full back-ups.
I didn't know if there were any fairy cheap methods.
 

Saltin

Platinum Member
Jul 21, 2001
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There is no competition between NT Backup and any third party backup app in a small business environment, especially if the budget is tight.

NT Backup is the way to go, and you don't even need to bother with tapes if you don't have the cash. Harddrives are quickly becoming the preferred method of storage for backups for several reasons.

1) Quicker backups/restores
2) Cheaper storage space per Gig
3) Did I mention faster?

I've set up backup strategies in small and larger offices, using all kinds of apps. NT backup is robust. It works with network shares. What I like to do is set-up a RAID Mirror with enough storage space for all my backups, and then create a share for each machine on the mirror.

Use the local NT backup on each machine, and schedule it to backup to the appropriate network share on the RAID Mirror. You can even write scripts and schedule them to erase previous backups so the Mirror doesnt get too full.

The mirror will provide redundancy for your backups. Nothing short of a flood/fire would put you in a unrecoverable situation.

If that is a concern, then use tapes as well. I currently use tapes (they go offsite for added safety), but I still initially backup to disk. This ensures the backup happens nice and quick, effects the server for a minimum amount of time, and I can backup those backups to tape at my liesure.
 

lowtech1

Diamond Member
Mar 9, 2000
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NT backup is great for Windows environment, and you can always write a script to stop & start services that may need to be shut down befor commencing backup.
 

Woodie

Platinum Member
Mar 27, 2001
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I have to say, I've used NTBackup on W2K, and it's not the greatest by quite a long shot. Working w/ tapes is a hassle from the GUI, and I'm not sure that a restore would actually work.

Doing a backup can be tricky. I've had reasonably competent (non-expert) techs attempt a backup, and not get any data into the backup, yet the backup says it completed successfully.
Restoring from files is tricky--I've had to do it a few times for EFS data recoveries, and unless you use exactly the right sequence, it won't restore data, and it dumps you back to the GUI.

Compression is non-existent. For example:
Data = ~64MB docs/spreadsheets/etc
Windows Backup = ~67 MB
Zipped Data = ~17MB

That said, if you're on a budget, you take what you can get. I would agree with Saltin--Do your primary backup to HD rather than tape.
 

Saltin

Platinum Member
Jul 21, 2001
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Woodie,

I am suprised by your experiences with NTBackup on 2k. I have used it for backup/recovery more times than I care to recount, and it has never failed me.

I didn't get completely comfortable with backing up servers until I understood the concept of the Windows backup set.I had to do a little reading to get comfortable with Exchange, SQL, and IIS restores, but now I am positive I can restore any machine with NTBackup.

The way NTBackup handles media and libraries is not completely intuitive though, I will conceed that.