Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
LESSON CONTENT
Introduction Why backup Backup location What data should be backed up What should you backup onto Backup procedures
Introduction
Everyone who uses a computer to save or store files will at some time or another experience that heart stopping moment when they realize their files are lost.
Why Backup?
Every day individuals, businesses, and organizations lose their precious files due to a
drive failure, inadvertent deletion, or other unwanted action or event.
The result is a great deal of stress, anxiety, and in the case of businesses, lost revenue.
Why Backup?
The computer hard drive that stores all your data has moving parts, and in time your hard drive will wear out and fail. It's just a matter of when. You need to keep a copy of all your important data somewhere else.
Natural act
Wind Fire Earthquake Extreme temperature Floods Hurricane
Technical
Hardware Application software Systems software (refers to the files and programs that make up your computer's operating system. installed on your computer when you install your operating system.) Communication Electricity
Backup Location
You need to store a copy of all your important files in a different location to where your computer is situated. It's not a great deal of use having the copy of your files on your external hard drive which is constantly plugged into your computer. A thief won't leave your additional drive for you to recover your lost files, a fire or flood won't distinguish between your computer and your external drive. At the very least, keep your copy in a different location in your home. If possible, keep your backup copy in an entirely different building.
Backup Location
Some choose to backup their data onto remote servers via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Others use the services of off-site backup over the Internet.
If you use your computer for business purposes you will also need to backup all the information from your
financial software, inventory control, customer databases, and other specialist business files.
There are many different types of media that you may choose to backup onto, and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. The first thing you'll have to work out is what suits your particular circumstance
It's generally a good idea to choose media that allows you to backup all the data you wish to without having to 'span' the backup.
For example, you may need many CDRs to backup all your information. The problem with this kind of backup is that it requires your intervention to replace the new media as each disk is required
A backup that can automatically run without your intervention will save you a great deal of time over the long run.
An external USB hard drive for example can plug straight into a computer and provide an instant large capacity space for your backups.
Backup procedure
Full backup
Sometimes called an archival back up Copies all of the files in the computers Provides the best protection against data loss because it copies all program and data files. Performing a full back up can be time consuming
Differential backup
Copies only the files that have changed since the last full backup Then creates copies of all the files that are different from the ones in the full backup.
Example:
Let us take for example that you are taking a full backup of a folder 'Test Folder' containing Four files
File A, File B, File C and File D on day 1 and have scheduled to take differential backups of the folder on a daily basis. The following table explains what would be the contents of successive differential backups, if you modify the files as given in column two.
Day
Files Edited
Files contained in the full backup (Test Folder_full_files.cb u) File A, File B, File C and File D
Day 1
Full
Day 2
File A
Differential
File A, File B, File C File A (modified version) and File D (original versions) File A, File B, File C File A (version modified on and File D (original Day 2) and File B (version versions) modified on Day 3) File A, File B, File C File A (version modified on and File D (original Day 2), File B (version versions) modified on Day 4) and File C (version modified on Day 4)
Day 3
File B
Differential
Day 4
Incremental backup
Copies only the files that have been changed since the last or last incremental backup. With incremental backup, you have the full backup and one or more incremental backups. The first incremental backup contains changes since the last full backup. Each subsequent incremental backup contains changes only since the previous incremental backup
Example:
Let us take for example that you are taking a full backup of a folder 'Test Folder' containing Four files
File A, File B, File C and File D on day 1 and have scheduled to take incremental backups of the folder on a daily basis. The following table explains what would be the contents of successive incremental backups, if you modify the files as given in column two.
Day
Files Edited
Day 1
Full
Day 2
File A
Incremental
File A, File B, File C and File D File A (original versions) version) File A, File B, File C and File D File B (original versions) version)
(modified
Day 3
File B
Incremental
(modified
Day 4
File A, File B, File C and File D File B (version (original versions) modified on Day 4) and File C (version modified on Day 4)
Selective backup
Sometimes called partial backup Allows the user to choose specific files to back up, regardless of whether or not the files have changed since the last incremental backup.
Sometimes called Continuous backup Backup plan in which all data is backed up whenever a change is made Because CDP is costly, few organisation have implemented CDP, its popularity is growing quickly as the cost for this technology is falls. CDP require little or no maintenance where compared to other backup method. Many experts believes that CDP will replace all other types of backup in the future
Backup Procedures
Continuous data protection provides automatic data backup whenever data is changed in an enterprise
Backup procedures
Specify a regular plan of copying and storing important data and program files. Generally, users should perform full backup at regular intervals, such as
Between full backup, you can perform differential and incremental backup.
Backup procedures
Emergency plan
Backup plan
Recovery plan
Test plan
Once the procedures in the emergency plan have been executed, the next step is to follow the back plan. The backup plan specifies how an organisation uses backup files and equipment to resume information processing. The backup plan should specify the location of an alternate computer facility in the event the organizations normal location is destroyed or unusable.
When operations are so important that the organisation cannot afford to lose the operation to a disaster, the organisation often maintain a HOT SITE, which is a separate facility that mirrors the systems and operations of the critical site The hot site always operate concurrently (Operating or acting in conjunction with another.) with the main site, so that if either site become unavailable, the other site continues to meet the organisations needs
One more alternate computer is to enter into a RECIPROCAL BACKUP RELATIONSHIP with another firm, where one firm provides space and sometimes equipment to the other in case of disaster.
Recovery plan
Specifies the actions to be taken to restore full information processing operations. As with emergency plan, the recovery plan differ for each type of disaster. To prepare for disaster recovery, an organisation should establish PLANNING COMMITTEES, with each one responsible for different forms of recovery.
Recovery plan
For example, one committee is in charge of hardware replacement, another is responsible for software replacement.
In summary
Why is computer backup is important, and how is it accomplished? What are the steps in a disaster recovery plan?