The old saying goes:
You don't miss it
until it's gone
You've heard the warnings: "back up your data."
By now, everyone
should know and understood that all computer data should be backed up. Why don't people do it? Perhaps it's because they don't know the reasons for backing up, the frequency, the length of time and how to deal with the backups.
There are as many kinds of backups as there are people, schools, churches, or businesses that use computers. Most businesses backup their computer data because it's the right thing to do. However I've heard many complaints about having to backup -- or what an inconvenience it is. Few actually consider the implications of not backing up.
Understanding data loss is paramount to a good backup strategy. So one must ask the familiar "what if"...
Backups (data archiving) are also important in reducing the amount of time and resources required to maintain and keep up to date on all the information in your system. You might decide to keep important records from only the current and past year and then archive anything older. Those older records can be accessed but may not be available immediately. Perhaps they're burned to CD-ROM, or today to DVD-RAM discs.
Don't forget that there are probably legal requirements to keep tax or financial records for a set period of time. If you've converted taxes to computer, then backups, in fact, become a legal mater. We often get pleas for help from users who have upgraded to new systems without upgrading their archive media. This spells trouble at the worst possible time. We helped one recent user retrieve back records and tax databases from diskette -- long after she bought a new Mac without a disk drive.
Many computer users actually fail to recover after a serious data loss. They end up re-keyboarding all the data, or simply losing it forever. Let's tackle some of the fundamental basics:
This is a frequent question and really this is based on the cost and risk of losing data. Most importantly is the cost of the data itself -- and the cost of re-entering the data. If you paid to have the data sourced or generated, then there's one very real cost. The next cost center is whether or not it will cost to have the applications or data out of service until it's restored or recreated. Will there be a loss work -- of customer service or confidence? Will there be costly delays or deadlines missed while the data is restored? All costs must be weighed against the cost of backup time, methodology, and media.
How often should backups be made and how long should the media be kept? There is no simple answer to this question. The decision on how often to backup data must be based on the time period of risk of losing the data. If your data changes from day to day -- and it's important data, then perhaps daily backups of at least the most important data is necessary. If the data changes infrequently, like weekly or monthly, then fewer backups are required.
Well, that depends on when it was done, how much the data has changed since then and what kind of media you used. In all probability the answer to that question is NO.
What happens if you lose or cannot open that backup? You've got no backup. What happens if the next backup fails and takes out both that backup and the current data? To be truly safe, you need multiple or "layered" backups. That means more than one.
To accomplish this, most techno-savvy computer users employ a backup technique called Grandfather/Father/Son. This method generates 3 layers of backups. It's complicated and demands discipline and ongoing maintenance. It also require voluminous storage capacity, tape backup or large hard drive banks. 90% of the computer community doesn't need this complicated strategy.
Most appropriately you probably need a good "Archive" and several current/recent backups.
With the advent of OSX on the Mac, the days of 'simple' back-ups are gone. Now we have to play by the same rules Windows users were always shackled with. OSX scatters updates and file modifications all over the computer. So you can no longer segregate the data that changes from the data that never changes. You need to be sensitive to active data and archive or "static" data. Active data needs to be backed up. Static data can be archived once and for good.
Data archiving is simply the backing up and removal of data that you are required to keep, but which is no longer used and may not be needed later. This is information that after an appropriate period of time is simply destroyed or forgotten. For instance, I've started throwing away all my diskettes containing pre-internet activities and pre-OS 9 applications. I simply no longer need them.
Once this data is archived, it's removed from the computer and stored away in a safe place. Data can be archived to media such as CD-ROM or DVD-RAM. If valuable data is currently housed on diskette, it should be converted before moving to a diskless system. I took hundreds of hours converting fonts, clip art, photos, and customer 'jobs' from diskette to CD. It became so exhaustive that I stopped converting, but keep an OS 9 machine with a disk drive in case I need to access those old diskettes. Keep in mind that some CD-ROMs have a life span of only 10 years or less. I believe diskettes have an even shorter lifespan since many of those created in the late 1980s to mid 1990s are now not readable.
That question depends on how lucky you feel. Some events that can disable the data and/or your computer can also destroy backup media -- such as fire, floods or malicious damage. So, for that reason if the data is super important, a copy of the backups should be kept in a separate physical location from the computer and media. Archive media should be stored in a very safe location or multiple locations. The more important the data, the more caution must be taken to preserve it.
In today's world, you can upload and store archival data on multiple servers in remote locations. There are services available that can do that for you. Most people however don't need to go to those extreme measures.
If you plan your computer setup and activities with an eye to backing up, then backups become part of the flow rather than an inconvenience.
Set up a folder or partition where all your data -- the work you create -- is in one place. That becomes a container that can be backed up easily and frequently. This will probably be your "Documents" folder. Once it reaches the size of your backup media, back it up twice and empty it. Many people will work based on a 700 megabyte CD-Rom. At the predetermined times a CD is burned of the Documents folder, it's labeled and shelved. CDs are cheap enough that they can be filed and eventually thrown away, using a new, blank, CD for each cycle.
After the 'data set' grows beyond the CD, you'll either have to break the data into smaller CD-friendly sizes or bring in external media. In the realm of video, music and terribly large image files this eventuality comes sooner than later. My iPhoto folder is well over 7 gigs. In the case of photos, videos and iTunes, once they are 'finalized' -- that is, finished in terms of modifications -- burn those to archive CDs or DVDs because they'll never change. Make two copies, one for work and one for home. Now you don't mind losing them off the computer.
To avoid rebuilding a complete system in the event of disaster, OS X users should purchase an external storage device large enough contain at least two partitions the size of the Mac hard drive. This sounds excessive but for true disaster insurance, it's not. Once your new Mac is running the way you want, with all your software installed and functioning well, copy or disk-image the entire Mac drive to the external backup drive. From that point on, you only need to backup data until the next big change or major installation. After making a major upgrade or installation, burn another copy to that backup drive. At that point you have two working backups of the entire system. Now store that external drive away until the next major change. Backup 3 will overwrite partition backup #1 and so forth.
If you make these backups "bootable" you can boot and restore directly from that hard drive -- but the archive will be larger. If you don't need a bootable backup, then omit the basic system components. If you're really concerned, buy two backup drives and duplicate the above.
[While this may seem excessive, consider how important some computers might be and how long it might take to rebuild it from scratch.]
Now the focus turns to data backups. If you can afford it, another external drive makes data backup a snap. You can utilize any number of backup programs to "sync" or "archive" the important folders on your computer to the corresponding folders on the backup drive. The most important folders in OS X are:
1) The "Users" folder (All the data)
2) The Library Folder (Apps, permissions, etc.)
Rotate your backups:
Generate backup #1, then later #2, then yet later #3.
Then backup #4 replaces backup #1...
#5 replaces #2 and so forth.
This way you've got three layers of backup. One out of three should be good even if the other two are corrupted. If you use disk images as backups, they can be compressed and later opened ("mounted") in the finder as a "ghost" from which needed files are pulled. At some point burn the backups to CD or DVD, archive them and forget them. (Shelf them for long term.)
Put important CDs or DVDs in individual CD envelopes, and store in air-tight containers in an environmentally controlled location. The System backup drive mentioned earlier should be stored likewise. Any backup drives should definitely be stored disconnected from the computer, in an out-of-the-way place. (If burglars steal the computer they'll also grab the hard drive if it's attached. There goes your computer and your backups!)
If your location doesn't have a fire-proof safe or lock box, consider purchasing one. You can get secure containers anywhere from just under $100 to literally thousands. Check your local Home Depot, Walmart or Lowes. Look for one that has at least a five-hour fire barrier, and is large enough to contain everything you need to store -- including wills, deeds, stocks, jewelry or other important items not trusted to a third party.
In the end, your most important challenge is identifying the data that is most important to protect, and implementation of a strategy and plan to protect it. Once you've overcome those two challenges it becomes maintenance.
We hope the unmentionable will never happen to you. But if it does, and you've been diligent with backing up, you'll be so thankful you did.
Until next time, happy mousing.
Fred Showker, Editor/Publisher UG Net News
Fred Showker is co-editor of "MUG Info Manager," the User Group Network News service, and a founding Apple User Group Advisory Board (UGAB) member. He was an original founder of the User Group Forum on AppleLink Personal Edition which became America Online in 1988 ... read more
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