FileSlinger™ Backup Reminder 1-27-06: Three Cautionary Tales

Today’s Backup Reminder comes courtesy of faithful reader Mike Van Horn (mvh@businessgroup.biz).

Here are my three favorite cautionary tales, from my own clients:

1. Pat religiously backs up to his external hard drive. One morning he comes to work to discover that his securely locked office has been broken into. Bypassing the locked door, the thief pounded a hole through the sheet rock wall with a hammer. Pat's computer was stolen—along with the attached hard drive back up.


2. Marge has an automatic backup system that mirrors her office's central server. When the main server went down, she confidently went to the backup server, only to discover that it was not operating. When she asked her office manager about this, the response was, "Oh yeah, I noticed awhile back that the server over in the corner was acting strange, but I forgot to tell you about it. What was that one for, anyway?"


3. Joe had not one, but two redundant back up systems, under the watchful eye of his IT manager, Bob. When one of these malicious viruses corrupted the main system, Bob tried to restore it from the back up, but instead infected the back up as well. Then, while trying to maneuver the second backup server into a better position, it accidently fell off the cart onto the concrete floor, damaging its hard drive. Five minutes, three systems destroyed! Bob was really indignant when he was fired.

Could this happen to you? If so, take a minute now to think about what you can do to prevent it. If not, why not? Post your answers here!

FileSlinger™ Backup Reminder 1-20-06: Worst Backup and Recovery Practices

Earlier this month Tony Bradley, the About.com guide for Internet and network security, wrote a two-part article about Worst Practices for Backup and Disaster Recovery. Bradley's analysis, and his advice, focus on medium and large businesses, but his points apply to small and home offices as well.

1. Fail to win management support

If you're a sole proprietor, then you're the management, so you don't have to make a case to your boss. But you have to make a commitment to creating and following a backup and recovery plan.

2. Provide no risk assessment.

You could hire a risk management specialist for this, but the real issue is: which data is critical to running your business? Do you need to back up all the files on all your computers, or are there only certain documents which you have to protect? Also, how much down time can you afford? Do you have time to reinstall your operating system and software, or do you need to be able to restore your computers to their previous state within an hour?

3. No written plan

It might seem silly to write out policies and procedures if you're a one-person business, but there are good reasons to do so. Not only does it make things clearer for you, but it gives you the chance to pass the job onto someone else--a good idea for any administrative-type tasks.

4. Lack of backup integrity

That means not checking to see whether you can actually restore from your backups. Some backup software has a "verify" option, but it's good to spot-check and make sure you can restore your files. Check your media, as well: is there a scratch on that CD? Did the tape get twisted?

5. Self-defeating data storage practices

This is a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't issue: the two problems are keeping your critical data in the same location as your computer and storing it too far away for a quick restoration. Online backup providers promise a solution to this problem. Another alternative is making two copies: one to keep on site, another to send offsite.

6. No plan for backup power

If you're a small or home-based business, you probably aren't going to invest in a generator, but it's worth making sure you have Uninterrupted Power Supplies for all your computer equipment. The battery backup kind that provides you with five minutes in which to shut down safely is definitely within a SOHO budget. The UPS also acts as a surge protector.

7. No alternate facility

This is a disaster preparedness issue: if you have to evacuate your home or office, where will you go? For a home office, one of those Extended Stay America suites seems like a good option. They've made an effort to help in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, so there's a good chance of getting a price break and other help in the natural disaster coming soon to a location near you.

8. No plan for communications

How will you reach your staff--or your clients--if your computer crashes, taking with it your contact database? What about the phone lines going down? You may not be able to cover every possible contingency, but it's worth thinking about the most likely ones. It's also important to keep a local copy of any database on your web server or e-commerce server, in case they're subjected to a natural disaster or a serious hardware failure.

9. Not having the required computer and networking devices

That means not having something to restore your data to if your computer burns up or floats away. Having more than one computer which can run your critical data and programs covers you in the event you have to wait days or weeks for your main machine to be repaired. Buying a second machine, particularly a used one, could be more cost-effective than renting one for any length of time, but it's good to know where you can rent a computer if you have to. And if your backups are the kind that require the same hardware specs to restore properly, you'd better make sure you have those specs written down so you can get the right equipment.

10. No dry run

Okay, I have to admit I'm unlikely to do a dry run of every aspect of my plan, but at the very least I should practice throwing my laptop and XHDs into a bag in less than 5 minutes. I've already tested the basic restore process from my Ghost images, and know that it works and how long it takes (and how long it takes to reinstall from scratch, which is to say, longer than I want to spend if my machine has gone down in the middle of an important project). And I should make sure I have my insurance agent's number in my cell phone and in my wallet. (I'm all but surgically attached to my handbag, and unlikely to be without it anywhere.)

The real worst practice for backup and recovery is not making backups at all, but it's worth reading these two articles and coming up with a plan to cover as many contingencies as you can think of.

If you have "worst practice" stories or best practice suggestions for small and home offices, post them as comments.

Links

Worst Practices in Backup and Disaster Recovery, Part 1

Worst Practices in Backup and Disaster Recovery, Part 2

FileSlinger™ Backup Reminder 1-13-06: Cell Phone Backups, ca. 2006

One of this newsletter’s loyal readers suggested that I write something about the proliferation of mobile devices and how to back up the data we carry around with us as a result. I did actually include a series of articles about cell phone and PDA backups back in October of 2004, but that was a long time ago, at least in tech terms, even if I personally am using the same mobile device and the same cell phone I was using then.

If you sync your PDA with your computer, each machine serves as a backup for the other. (You’ve also probably experienced problems with duplicates and unwanted overwrites, but that’s another article.)

Cell phones, at least the more traditional ones which are primarily phones and don’t make use of a Palm or Windows Mobile operating system, are a bit trickier, and even if nothing goes wrong, users find themselves faced with the problem of getting their phone book from the old phone to the new. In some cases you can simply move the SIM card from the old phone into the new one—but this requires 1) some technical aptitude and 2) compatible systems between phones, and 3) that you not have changed carrier or phone number in the meantime.

Some carriers will now let you upload and store your cell phone directory onto their network—but that’s not an option everyone will want to make use of, for reasons like privacy and security.

Fortunately, manufacturers are coming to the rescue of cell phone users. Two new products (one available now and one expected in the second quarter of this year) are designed exclusively for backing up cell phones. Better yet, they’re compatible with many different phones, so don’t depend on the manufacturer, never mind the carrier. (For any readers outside the U.S. who may be puzzled by this reference, it’s pretty useless to buy a cell phone here without also signing up with a cell phone carrier; hence the phones are usually provided “free” with a two-year service contract.)

The first, which is available now, is the CellStik from Spark Technology corporation (http://www.sparktech.com). It looks much like any other USB memory stick. One end plugs into your computer, the other to your cell phone. You can transfer data either from the computer to the phone, or from the phone to the computer, by pressing one of the directional buttons. You can also use it to move data between phones.

CellStik only works with Windows computers and with newer phones—my Motorola 120e isn’t on their list, but if you’ve got one of those slick new RAZR models, you can get a CellStik for $40.

The other new cell phone backup device is Cellular Phonebook Backup Pal from Advanced Wireless Solutions, LLC (www.backup-pal.com). This circular device has three buttons on it: Backup, Reset, and Restore to Phone. It runs on AAA batteries and connects to your phone or computer via an interchangable interface module (infrared, USB, or phone-specific serial).

Backup Pal is meant to operate independently of a computer, so it might not matter whether it’s Mac-compatible, but being able to get the numbers I’ve put in my cell phone while out into my computer contact program is something I’d want to be able to do with such a device.

Since it’s not actually on the market yet, I can’t tell whether it will work with my phone—but I’m not holding my breath. Maybe I should’ve taken Verizon up on their offer of a new camera phone last time I renewed my contract. I just couldn’t see what I’d want with it, since I already have a digital camera and prefer to use my cell phone only for outgoing calls.

Anyone who knows of any other such devices, or better yet, has actually used one—write in and let us know how it works.

Finally, a tip of the hat to Doug Boysen and Delphi Backup. Doug got in touch with me months ago, and I never followed up. Delphi provides online backup solutions through Value Added Resellers, in case any of you is looking to become a backup service reseller. Since I don’t want to add to the tech-support/computer geek side of my business, I’m really not interested in becoming a reseller for anyone’s backup solution, no matter how good, but if you’re looking for managed offsite backup, you can contact Doug directly at dboysen@delphibackup.net and let him tell you why you should prefer Delphi to its competitors.

Backup to be a top tech trend in 2006—we can only hope

The Small Business Trends blog is running a series of articles on trends for 2006. Guest blogger Ramon Ray contributed his top technology trends just a few days ago. And what should appear on the list but backup, alongside security, CRM, and voice over IP? That's right: data backup.

"I could write miles of stories about businesses who wished they would have backed up their data only to find it lost due to human or technology error. More and more businesses are going to ENSURE that their critical business information is backed up and can be recovered on demand."

I'm certainly doing my part to see that they do, but data loss horrors have been going on for years, and many individuals and small businesses still don't make regular backups, or check the backups they make, or have off-site backups.

Still, Ray isn't the only one to predict a boom in backups and storage, and Hurricane Katrina has certainly gotten a lot of people thinking about protecting their data from natural disasters. Maybe 2006 really will be the year of better backups.

ComputerAct!ve Buyers' Guide for Backup Software

British mag ComputerAct!ve has produced a buyers' guide to backup software. In keeping with the site's dedication to providing "simple clear advice," it's one of the shortest such guides I've seen, with only three recommended choices: Acronis TrueImage 8, Roxio Backup My PC Deluxe 6 (which I'd never actually heard of), and the X-drive online backup service.

The ComputerAct!ve website also has a Jargon Buster for demystifying Geek Speak and quite a few other useful features. Take a look—and if anyone has experience with the Roxio backup product, let me know what you think of it.

FileSlinger™ Backup Reminder 1-6-06: Don't Resolve, Just Back Up

Yikes! It’s 6:30 AM on Friday, and I just remembered now that I have to write this reminder in time to be at a 9 AM meeting. Just as well I opted for a shorter format a couple of weeks ago.

I don’t know whether any of you put making regular backups on your list of New Year’s resolutions—or even whether you make them. I gave up on New Year’s resolutions years ago. They seem designed to be broken, though I can remember a few that I kept. I’ve learned that if it’s time to make an important change, I shouldn’t wait until January 1 to do it.

But the beginning of the year is a natural time to engage in certain activities, like clearing out the past year’s files to make room for the current ones. The holidays, and returned greeting cards (paper or electronic) prompt us to go through our contact databases and update or purge them.

And it seems that the New Year is prompting backup companies to go on link-share hunts. Two of them have contacted me in the past week, one to ask for a new link and one to ask where a previous link had gone. (The previous link, as far as I can tell, was in an Adsense result, so I have no idea where it went.)

As a courtesy to them, I’ll mention their sites here, though I have neither a relationship to nor any experience with their products: Remote Backup Systems has a short Flash video entitled “Bull Happens” about the importance of off-site backups. Salvage Data found the Backup Blog in a Google search. It’s possible that by using RBS, you won’t need Salvage Data or one of its competitors. (That’s certainly the idea.)

Returning to those New Year’s resolutions, though—if you’ve been saying “I need to start making regular backups,” stop saying it, and do it. Bulls may not come thundering through your office to spear your computer on their horns as they do in the RBS video, but where technology is concerned, it’s not whether something will go wrong, but when.

Tuesday afternoon my pointer started wandering across the screen all by itself. I would drag it back to try to click on something, and it would run away again. Rebooting didn’t help. Neither did unplugging my tablet. The problem repeated itself when I booted to the Bart-PE CD which I use for Ghost backups and outside-of-Windows diagnostics. Fortunately Ghost 8, being a DOS-based program, is easy to navigate with the keyboard alone. Not so much of what I need to do my work.

I made my Ghost backup yesterday instead of today because Dell was sending a repair person to replace the keyboard and trackpad on my laptop. Any time you open a computer up, there’s some risk of static damage—and there was no guarantee that the hardware replacement would fix the problem. I knew it was possible I’d have to reinstall the machine from scratch, or at least from the Ghost backup I made when I first bought it, and then mess about with drivers and the like. So I had to be sure that all my data was safe, not just the files which get backed up on startup and shutdown.

Fortunately, the hardware replacement did the trick and the computer is now functioning normally. (And I’ll give a mini plug here for Dell’s Gold Service plan, which came with my computer when I bought it used—everyone I dealt with was 1) a native speaker of English and 2) extremely helpful.) The machine is probably due for a “hygienic” reinstall soon anyway, but I’m very glad I didn’t have to do an emergency reformat when I’m already behind on client projects.

If it’s important, back it up today.