Data Backup: What is it and why do it?

What is data backup and why do it? Seems like a silly question but you would be surprised to know that most people don’t really know the answer to either of these questions. Lots of people know they should do it, what exactly or how on the other hand...

Data backup is:

Making exact copies of your data on a regular basis and storing those copies in a safe place.

Exact copies

Exact copies are, for the most part, automatic. If you backup your files by copying them anywhere, then they should be exact copies (your putting your faith in the operating system and hardware here).

If you move your data instead of copying it then you don’t have an exact copy, you still only have one, lonely, vulnerable copy, which is not a backup. An example of this type of “backup” is when you move your pictures from your hard drive to a CD/DVD for safe keeping (CDs and DVDs are not all that reliable for long term storage).

Another aspect that affects whether you have an exact copy of your data is if the file has changed. Your email, is good example. You backup your email, and then you get new email. Your copy no longer matches the current state of your email. This is where regular backups comes in.

Regular backups

Regular backups offer two things. First, they keep your backup current i.e. an exact copy of your data. Secondly, they can give you an archive, or point in time backup.

Keeping your backup current, we have already talked about. What about this archiving or point in time backup, what is it? I will give you an example to demonstrate.

So you are a good data citizen and you backup your computer data, make exact copies, everyday at the end of the day. The next day you open your email only to discover that the file is corrupt for some reason and you cannot access it. No worries, you pull out your backup. With a smug smile on your face, you restore the file and… it doesn’t open either. The file you backed up was already corrupt. If only you could go back to a different point in time. One more day to yesterday morning's copy would solve the problem.

Does this happen? You bet! Another common scenario is deleting a file and not realizing it until later. Think of files like tax files. You only look at those once a year so you would never notice that you deleted last year’s data, which you need for this year, until next year. Ahh!

Single exact copy data backups are good, archives are better. What could be better?

Safe Place

A safe place to store those backups and archives would be better. Time for another scenario.

You are a data backup God or Goddess. Everyday you backup your data to DVD. You use archival quality write once DVDs and you keep everyday’s backup as an archive. You even went out and bought DVD storage cases to hold each month's DVDs. You’ve catalogued them and they are all sitting on a self for easy access next to your computer. Great! Then the unthinkable happens.

You have gone out for dinner and left the kids with a babysitter. The baby sitter is distracted by the season’s finale of Survivor and your 4 year old sees the perfect opportunity to play with that new paper/credit card/CD shredder that you just got.

Having witnessed the shredding of a DVD, that is the object of choice AND there are all those cases of DVD’s on the shelf. One after another they go through the shredder, making a wonderful noise and producing all of that shiny confetti. What 4 year old can stop themselves until… they are all gone.

Ok, it is unlikely but you get my point. More often, it is fire, flood, natural disaster, or theft, not a precocious 4 year old.

So what is safe storage? I can tell you what it isn’t. It isn’t:

• A second hard drive or partition in the same computer.
• A stack of disks anywhere near the computer.
• Your purse, gym bag or hockey bag.

Really the same building is not ideal. What is ideal is a disaster proof location, such as a safe deposit box, or a fireproof safe in another building/town/country. In most cases, your office desk will do just fine. If you have a relative that works for some top-secret government agency in another country then mail them copies of your data. Don’t forget to send chocolate at Christmas though so they don’t feel taken advantage of.

Of course I have to finish off by saying that the easiest way to backup your data, that is to make exact copies of your data on a regular basis and store those copies in a safe place, is to use a backup service like Simply Offsite’s data backup services.