So you know a little bit about tape backup, but you're wondering how to set up a tape backup strategy for your business. Well, let's take a look at 3 simple steps to setting up a complete backup solution.Step 1: Purchase your tape backup hardware
Firstly, purchase
tape backup hardware. If you need to perform file server backup (or Exchange Server backup or SQL Server backup) for small business, then one of
following tape drives should suffice:
* Travan cartridge drive (up to 10 Gb) * DDS tape backup drive (up to 20 Gb) * DDS tape backup drive with hardware data compression (up to 40 Gb)
Then purchase
necessary tapes for your backup rotation strategy. A good Grandfather-Father-Child variation will require 10 tapes or 14 tapes.
Step 2: Purchase your tape backup software
When it comes to tape backup software, one option is to use NTBackup -
standard Windows backup program. The problem with NTBackup is that it is too hard to use. While an expert should be able to schedule backup jobs using NTBackup, what you really want is something a novice can setup in minutes.
What you really want to do is invest in some quality backup software for your business? Well, if you run a small business, you'll want to avoid those expensive brands! They're designed for large corporations. You should really be looking for software for tape backup that does everything you need, but is affordable at
same.
Look for a backup program that's designed specially for small business instead. Look for a product that is advertised as being simple to use. Remember, you don't want software that requires an expert to run it. Download a trial version of
backup software and try it out for a month or so. If everything works smoothly and you're happy with
product, go ahead and make a purchase!
Step 3: Continually perform your backups
So you've attached
tape drive to your server and installed
software. You've configured
software to run your tape rotation scheme and everything's raring to go. So how do you go about performing backups?