Atlanta PC User GroupWednesday, 9 October 2013

Back Up Your Data

Someone once said:

If your colleagues think you are paranoid about backing up your data….. you may be doing it right, but probably not.

Philosophy 3-2-13 copies of anything you care about - Two isn't enough if it's important.

2 different formats - Example: Dropbox+DVDs or Hard Drive+Memory Stick or CD+Crash Plan, or more

1 off-site backup - If the house burns down, how will you get your memories back?

These are not backups:Backing up your laptop to an SD Card in the same laptop is #notabackupBacking up to a hard drive that is 6 inches away from your computer is #notabackupBacking up your Gmail to another Gmail account is #notabackupBacking up your book by copying it to another folder is #notabackupThe photos that are still in your camera memory are #notabackup

Make a PlanTake stock of your dataDecide how much it is worthDetermine the methods and frequencyStick to it religiously

A PlanAutomatic nightly clone of entire drive to another drive.Automatic versioned backups to Time Machine in basement.Automatic nightly clone of home directory to Amazon S3.I get bent out of shape when people whine about a crashed system.Plan for it. It is inevitable. 11/16/12 1:45pm

Taking StockHow much data do I have?How much is actual dataHow much is applicationsHow much is “meta-data”How much is junk

How much is it worth?If my disk got “toasted” in a fire, would I pay $2,500 to have it recovered? $1,000? $500? Eh, c’est la vie!Do I have 50 GB of logs that will be re-created anyway?Do I need 20 versions of my documents?Do I have licenses for all my software enabling me to re-install with a simple download?

MethodsThere are many ways to think about thisYou should use several of them in combination for your planThere are also dependencies upon the type of system:

WindowsMac OS *ix

Physical vs. LogicalPhysical takes an image of the complete disk that is ready for restoring to a new disk. Physical backups do not care what is on the disk – every bit is copied to the image, even though only a fraction of the disk contains dataIt can be compressed and encrypted for security purposes. Makes for the fastest full restore

Physical vs. Logical (cont’d)

Logical backs up only the bits that are usedIt depends upon some sort of VTOC or directoryTypically the fastest backupDepending upon technique, could be the fastest restoreGreat for file versioning and old version recovery

Whole vs. IncrementalWhole usually refers to logically copying a file, be it a data file or applicationWhole also refers to the whole disk sometimesIncremental refers to pieces of the file or disk

If a file spans some boundary, such as sectors, and only one sector changed, just copy thatIf physically copying a disk and only one sector changed, just copy that one

Versioning & ArchivingDo I keep multiple copies of the file or disk I am backing up.

If I wish to “version” a disk, I need multiple disksIf I wish to “version” a file, I need extra space

Some allow versioning as long as there is space and then start dropping the oldest version

Operating SystemsWindows is the toughest and least flexibleFor purposes of our discussion, you have:

Data – easily backed upApplications – not easy if at allRegistry – too much hardware dependency

The best Windows scheme is image copying and just copying data – make sure you have your licenses to re-install programs

Operating Systems (cont’d)

Mac OS X is easier to back upImages work like Windows, either full disk or incrementalData is clearly storedApplication “packages” can be copied and restored

For some reason there seems to be a wider choice of backup software, also

Operating Systems (cont’d)

*ix systems are not much different than Mac OS X - or should I say the other way around – Mac OS X is based upon BSD UnixApplication “packages” are even better maintained, for the most part:

UbuntuCentOSRed HatAbout 50 others

SoftwareWindows

Acronis – the best all-around image and partition management software, capable of full image, incremental, encoding, compression, and most any other feature found in any backup software. We are getting a discount code for everyone.Synctoy – free from Microsoft, excellent for small volumes

SoftwareMac OS X

SuperDuper – both logical incremental image and logical files, clocks, calendars, full restore variations, encryption, compression, etc.Carbon Copy Cloner – as far as I can tell, a clone of SuperDuper with all the bells and whistlesTime Machine (Apple) – full versioning with a space limit, one of the few that can do full disk restore, also

Software*ix

R is the only one I am familiar with and wish I knew more, here. It is FLOSS.

OffsiteCarbonite – platform independent, backs up everything on your internal disk or disks – no external disks, can encrypt and has full file restore ability with limited versioning, runs in backgroundCrashplan – backs up your internal and external disks (same price), keeps five or ten versions, will restore to a specific time and date by file or complete disk, runs in background. Has a free mode where you and a friend can back up to disks at each other’s location, and a family plan for up to 10 computers.

NASs & RAIDDrobo is an example of a NAS and RAIDProprietary softwareConsole monitoringMultiple bays – five, up to 20 or 32 (?)Each bay with different size drives up to 4 TBNetwork support

NASs & RAID (cont’d)

Multiple bay failure support1 of 4 bays, 6.7 TB available of 8 TB2 of 5 bays, about 7.5 TB of 10 TB

Has its own backup utility, but I did not botherPlatform independent

Spinrite

Spinrite (cont’d)

Disk WarriorBoot from Disk WarriorIgnores logical dataBuilds own directoryAsks you to check it before putting it on the diskActually corrects some physical errors

NotesGoogle article

Abstract http://goo.gl/fqkJoEArticle http://goo.gl/vLdcl2

Synctoy http://goo.gl/qRWDKnAcronis – discount code comingSuperDuper - http://goo.gl/1nLUDLCarbon Copy Cloner - http://www.bombich.com

Notes (cont’d)

“Why You Should Always Have More Than One Backup”, Lifehacker, http://goo.gl/c7bYxO“The Computer Backup Rule of Three” http://goo.gl/axvQjr