Second book in the “Small Biz Success Tips” series
4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
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4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups Cornell D. Green
Free Edition from communit.us/helpdesk  Copyright 2010 Cornell D. Green Published by the author.
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4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
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4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
4 Things You MUST Know about Computer Backups
CommunIT's Small Biz Success Tips - volume 1, number 2 This is the second book in the “Small Biz Success Tips” series, designed to explain the business value of the computers and technology you already own, to help you thrive and prosper in this 21st Century economy. In this book I cover the single most critical part Your Small Business computer use – backing up your data. As the title says, we’ll cover four key elements that will help you the business value of backups, and guide you in determining what data you MUST backup.
You haven’t got time to spare, so we keep these books brief. Each book contains just the essence, a “quick study guide” if you will – the product of my nearly 18 years of providing professional computer support for businesses of all sizes, written to explain not how technology works, but how technology can go to work for Your Small Business. Every knows they should backup their data, but almost NO BUSINESSES do! You CANNOT afford not to backup, but in order to do so successfully, there are four key things you must understand: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Copying is NOT backup Only backup what you CANNOT REPLACE Automate your backups, or you will forget If you don't know how to RESTORE a file, you don't have a backup
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4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
Copying is NOT backup: Disks are cheap. At about a hundred bucks a terabyte (1 TB = 1,000 GB), there’s an entire generation of computer users that never had – or heard of – a Jaz, Zip or 8mm tape drive. I have several Small Business clients who "back up" their data by attaching one of these large USB hard drives to their computers, and copying key files and folders to them. While this is an excellent way to archive or synchronize data, this is not really a data backup. Of course, you ask, what is the difference?
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Archiving - is when you make a complete copy of a folder and all its contents, usually to a tape, CD or DVD, and then store it for reference or future retrieval. Synchronizing - is when you have two folders, usually on different machines, and you take steps to ensure that every file and subfolder which is on one machine is exactly duplicated on the other. Backup - is when you store files and folders for protection against accidental deletion or alteration. In backups, you usually save multiple versions of the same files and or folders, allowing you to "roll back" to the way the files or folders were at a particular date or time.
Archiving and synchronizing save copies of files and folders. • •
Archiving saves many copies of the same files and folders Synchronizing saves only the most recent copy of every file and folder.
Backups save versions of files and folders. Think of backups as the perfect combination of archiving and synchronizing. • • • •
Like synchronizing, you always have the latest version of the files and folders you backup. Like archiving, you have every version of every changed file and folder in your backup list. Unlike synchronizing, you have every version of each file and folder, not just the most recent. Unlike archiving, you have only the versions of files that have changed since your last backup, not multiple copies of identical files. 6 http://communit.us/helpdesk | cgreen@communit.us | 646-727-0212
4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
Only backup what you CANNOT REPLACE: In the "copy to large external drive" scenario above, archiving takes up too much space, since full copies of the entire target folder are required. Synchronizing lacks the ability to access previous versions of the target files -- if a file is infected with a virus, then synchronized, you now have two versions of a bad file, and no good file to recover with. A backup would allow you to select an uninfected version and copy it over the infected file. This is why we consider proper backups to be a key part of data protection, along with a good antivirus and firewall program Your business doesn’t depend on what type of chip runs your computer, or who makes the hard drive. It depends on the unique information - “data” - that you create yourself, or receive in the course of doing business, which cannot be re-created should that data be lost, corrupted, or if your hard drive dies. The three main categories of business data are: • • •
Dynamic data Active data Archive data
There's the information you're working on right now (Dynamic data), the information you consume and create in the course of working (Active data), and finally the information your store for reference and compliance purposes (Archive data). Dynamic data has to be backed up dynamically. Last night's version of a file you've been working on for hours today is no help if your computer's disk dies, or you corrupt or overwrite the file. Active data is more stable, but no less important. It can be backed up at regularly scheduled intervals usually the end of the day or week. Both Windows 7 and Mac OS X have good built-in backup programs, with Mac taking the lead with Time Machine. Click the links in the previous sentence for instructions. Archive data can be copied to an external drive, which should then be disconnected and stored separately, and the data removed from your computer’s hard drive. You are, after all, creating a data archive, so you can free space for active and dynamic data. Welcome to the world of Small Business Data Management. 7 http://communit.us/helpdesk | cgreen@communit.us | 646-727-0212
4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
Automate your backups, or you will forget: The power of every modern computer, which we so rarely exploit to the fullest, is the ability to schedule activity and perform it automatically. We’re used to our consumer devices doing this: • • •
We use our cell phones as alarm clock We time-shift our media consumption with TiVo or other Digital Video Recording devices Even our coffee machines have timers… had ‘em for years…
Yet most of the things our Small Business computers do, we do manually. That’s why so few of us really backup our critical information on a regular basis – we simply forget. Unlike me, most of you are not computer professionals. So the “stuff” your computer does in the background is easy to ignore, and then to forget. Besides, hard drives don’t die as frequently as they once did, and there are many good antivirus and firewall programs, so we’re not chasing the “virus of the week” like the late ‘90s But that doesn’t mean regular data protection is an option, any more than driving uninsured is. To make sure you “back that… er, stuff up”, let the computer do it. If you’re relying on your memory, and “having a spare moment” to backup up your information, ask yourself: “how regularly are you backing up your data now??” Letting the machines do what they do best – repeat boring tasks faithfully and without fail – is the first step in freeing yourself to do the thing’s you’re best at, that will help you grow Your Small Business. Mac OS X’s Time Machine is automatic once you set it up, running in the background as long as the computer is on. Setting up automatic Windows backups is fairly easy – just click the link in the previous sentence for step-bystep directions, plus instructions on email backups and other useful information.
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4 Things You MUST Know About Computer Backups
Small Biz Success Tips vol. 1, number 2
If you don't know how to RESTORE a file, you don't have a backup: • • • • •
When was your last backup? Where are the backup files located? How do you restore a specific file? How do you restore a crashed computer? When will you need to restore from archived data? How will you do it?
The old saying in real estate says that there are three keys to success: “location, location, location”. In the world of Small Business Data Management (which you are now a part of, just by reading this eBook), it’s “restore, restore, restore”. Having a copy of every file you’ve ever created does no good if you can’t locate the right file in a time of crisis – which is usually the only time you’ll be concerned with the procedure in the first place. Just like fire safety, develop a “how do we restore the right file” plan. Schedule regular “test drills” – nothing fancy, just pick a file at random, and restore it to a folder other than the original folder (unless you really need to restore it, which makes for a better exercise). Staring down a deadline or dealing with an impatient client is not the time to start “figuring out” how to do it. It’s usually a bad situation when you urgently need to retrieve information from a backup – don’t make it worse by being unfamiliar with how to enjoy the benefits of protection by proper Small Business backups.
21st Century CommunIT Solutions specializes in Small Business data protection plans, affordable online backup strategies and document management solutions. But that’s just the beginning. We work with solo entrepreneurs and Small Businesses, to help them use the computers and technology they already own to thrive and prosper in the current economy. Call us today at 646-727-0212 for a free telephone consultation. Or click here to visit our website contact form. Start Success TODAY! 9 http://communit.us/helpdesk | cgreen@communit.us | 646-727-0212