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Backup Strategies
Recommended Backup Strategies using either a Tape Drive or DVD Writer.
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Tape Drive Solution
If you have a server with a tape backup drive, then the following system is a simple tape rotation
scheme that does not require you to keep up with dates that each tape was used.
Portable External USB Drives can also be used in this scheme.
This requires 9 tapes or drives labeled as follows
- Tape/Drive 1 - Monday
- Tape/Drive 2 - Tuesday
- Tape/Drive 3 - Wednesday
- Tape/Drive 4 - Thursday
- Tape/Drive 5 - 1st Friday
- Tape/Drive 6 - 2nd Friday
- Tape/Drive 7 - 3rd Friday
- Tape/Drive 8 - 4th Friday
- Tape/Drive 9 - 5th Friday
The Monday tape will be used every Monday. The same with Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
On Friday, you simply need to know which Friday of the month it is. If it is the third Friday
of the month, you will backup to the tape labeled 3rd Friday. Several times a year there is
a fifth Friday. This tape will only get used periodically.
You can have 4 additional tapes for making a long term backups at the end of each quarter.
Additional tapes/drives can be used for Quarterly Backups.
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CD or DVD Solution
One small office strategy is to backup Monday through Thursday from the server to different
workstations. Then on Friday, a DVD backup can be created and taken off-site. This method depends on
each workstation having enough free hard drive space to hold the backup. Most modern workstations
have ample room for this storage need.
These disks do not need to be returned as
a new one will be used each Friday. Most of the time, when a file or a complete folder is needed from a backup,
the file can be copied from one of the workstations back to the server. Only during a catastrophic occurance does
a CD/DVD disk need to be retrieved for data restoration.
Server and 2 Workstations
- Create a Backup folder on both workstations.
- Backup all server files to Workstation A on Monday and Wednesday and Friday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation B on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Write a CD or DVD each Friday to be taken off site.
Server and 3 Workstations
- Create a Backup folder on each workstation.
- Backup all server files to Workstation A on Monday and Wednesday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation B on Tuesday and Thursday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation C on Friday.
- Write a CD or DVD each Friday to be taken off site.
Server and 4 Workstations
- Create a Backup folder on each workstation.
- Backup all server files to Workstation A on Monday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation B on Tuesday and Friday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation C on Wednesday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation D on Thursday.
- Write a CD or DVD each Friday to be taken off site.
Server and 5 Workstations
- Create a Backup folder on each workstation.
- Backup all server files to Workstation A on Monday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation B on Tuesday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation C on Wednesday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation D on Thursday.
- Backup all server files to Workstation E on Friday.
- Write a CD or DVD each Friday to be taken off site.
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