Improve my backup?

[tj2419]

Currently I use backup assist for local backups that go to one NAS and are mirrored to another NAS at the other end of the building. We also use OPSoftware for cloud based backup who backup our backup server (about 6TB).

 

I pay just shy of £1500 a year for this setup.

 

Are there any other clear recommendations of alternative providers? We are mainly physical servers although our SIMS server, Edulink and RM Access servers are about to be visualised on VMWare.

 

I like the fixed costs of the current setup but would also like to get it all under one backup software to maintain.

 

Cheers

[AlanD]

I sense that there is much confusion with regards to "backups"...partly - I suspect because "backup" means different things to different people.

 

So you might take a Virtual snapshop of your server as a backup - before implementing some new feature just in case you need to "go back"...but you wouldn't do this on a live server that was actually supporting users - because going back might lose any data they saved. In fact I think its pretty widely regarded that snapshots should not generally be used on a "working" server....and are certainly not the way to provide a solid backup.

 

Then there is "archive" - which to me is not the same as a "backup" - which allows you to restore a file that was last a month ago or "last term" (because it was overwritten with the same filename - or during an edit accidentally had deleted some of it). Typically you would want at last some archive data....we keep tapes at the end of year....and one every two months until that year is up.

 

Then you require backups to get your most recent data (possibly with some intermediary loss) should there be a disaster...and you have to rebuild a server.

 

You would probably employ a variety of "full" and "differential" backups.... and you would probably have some backups (like MIS and financial) which happen in some form or other every hour....while ordinary school data might only be once a day...and stuff that rarely changes - shared files, pictures, etc might only get a fresh backup completed every month.

 

Then you need to really careful about Exchange and SQL backups - if your MIS system uses one - because having a "backup" doesn't necessarily mean you can restore a working SQL server from that backup....because SQL databases are constantly in a state of flux - with live data partly on clients during updates.....so usually you require SQL modules to need to use SQL manger to create separate backups - otherwise you will be for a nasty shock should disaster strike.

 

Personally I'm a fan of "windows server backup"....which you need to "add" in to the server - because it doesn't appear there otherwise. I think this is much overlooked piece of kit that works really well....and is completely free. A perfectly good backup system can be put together with a USB drive and rotating set of 10GB disks. Yes - by all means use a remote NAS box or something if you must....

 

Cloud backup is great - until you want to restore a server - and unless you have a local disk cache for backups. And if you have a server doing this, the cost of adding an LTO7 or LTO8 tape drive is soon covered by savings from cloud backup costs. Restoring a complete server from cloud is not something you would be able to rush....I'm not sure that I "get" the advantages of cloud backup - unless its a very small installation.