Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Affordable and Safe Data Protection Practices?

Posted by Cliff on from the preserving-your-data dept.

cfreeze asks: "With the recent fire at the University of Twente, I started to think 'Are the steps I'm taking to backup my home network sufficient?'. The first thing going through my mind was the need to mail a set of recent backup discs to a family member. I feel this is a good first step, but due to the distances involved it may prove to be impractical. The second was a small hidden personal safe that is fireproof. What steps are you taking?" If you are interested in truly protecting your data, you have to realize that making backups is just a start. Next comes protecting those backups from floods, fires, and other catastrophes that might occur. What do you do to protect your backups?

11 of 583 comments (clear)

  1. the safe may be fireproof by phliver · · Score: 5, Insightful

    but can the storage format your putting your data on stand up to the heat?

  2. Three words: by cje · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Safety deposit box.

    Your bank should make these available to you for next to nothing, and you don't have to worry about buying your own safe and making sure that it's secure, fireproof, etc.

    --
    We're going down, in a spiral to the ground
    1. Re:Three words: by tjanofsky · · Score: 5, Insightful

      While it may be safer than your house, keep in mind that banks usually do not insure safety deposit boxes, and they are often not liable if the box is destroyed (e.g., at the WTC).

    2. Re:Three words: by dildatron · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Hey, man, if all/some that shit happens, the last thing I am going to fscking care about is my backups. I think I will be glad if I am alive, and go from there...

      What good are my financial backups if my bank is now a pile of rubble? :) (joke)

      --


      If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
  3. Don't forget... by puppetman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    just because you have a backup, doesn't mean it works.

    We were backing up our Oracle database with the export-utility, and DIRECT=Y flag. Well, unfortunately, sometimes a direct backup is corrupted (a direct backup bypasses all the SQL parsing, and unloads it directy from the tablespace).

    Now we restore our backups every few weeks to our development databases, to make sure they are working.

  4. Make sure your backup methodology is good to start by Sheetrock · · Score: 5, Insightful
    First, you have to make sure your backup method isn't prone to mistakes. One setup I had to clean up involved reusing the same three backup tapes for god knows how long (about one file in three was properly restorable) and was missing perhaps the three most important datafiles on the system because they happened to be in use during the backup and the guy that set it up didn't realize that was a problem.

    Right now, CD-Rs (not -RWs) seem to be a great way to store moderate amounts of data. -RWs suffer from degradation pretty quickly despite their rewriteability (I've never seen one live up to the '1000 writes' standard they claim -- more like 3-7). For larger amounts, DVD-R may be the wave of the future, but high-quality tapes are probably as good if you can persuade your boss to let you replace them from year to year.

    Periodically, it's important to store your backups offsite. A safe-deposit box works well, or perhaps a fireproof safe if you're worried about the confidentialness of your information. But yeah, I'd move that stuff offsite biweekly or monthly at a minimum.

    --

    Try not. Do or do not, there is no try.
    -- Dr. Spock, stardate 2822-3.




  5. where are my mod points when I need them... by MarcoAtWork · · Score: 5, Insightful

    mod parent up: a while ago I was thinking about getting a fireproof safe for my own backups, but fireproof (as defined by manufacturers) doesn't really mean 'compatible with magnetic media', since an inside temperature that doesn't make paper burn and/or plastic liquefy, is still a temperature that will probably cook your cdr dye and/or play havoc with other magnetic media.

    I found that there were safes that were guaranteed to keep the inside at a temperature compatible with storage media, but their prices were not as affordable (obviously).

    --
    -- the cake is a lie
    1. Re:where are my mod points when I need them... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Insightful
      since an inside temperature that doesn't make paper burn and/or plastic liquefy, is still a temperature that will probably cook your cdr dye and/or play havoc with other magnetic media.

      Not to mention that the walls of fireproof safes are usually filled with moisture-retaining material. That helps with fires, but the humidity inside the safe is always high. Over time, that could degrade the plastic and metal parts of any digital media stored inside even without a fire.

  6. Fireproof safes are not good enough by buss_error · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Tempatures in fire proof safes will rise enough to destroy media. Unless the safe is rates MEDIA fireproof (or some such, I foget) it won't be enough to have usable backups after a fire.

    A good alternitave is to put your backups in a safe in the back yard.

    --
    Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves.
  7. Re:cool by MarcoAtWork · · Score: 4, Insightful

    what about 8-9 years of email? my thesis? custom firewall/sendmail/other rules that would take ages to rewrite? digital pictures taken at important events in my life?

    These are just some examples why I am probably going to go through the 'offsite box at my bank' route pretty soon...

    --
    -- the cake is a lie
  8. If you haven't restored, you haven't backed up. by Nkwe · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Make sure that whatever you do, you have tested your restore process and done so recently. A backup that can't be read is actually worse then no backup at all. If you have no backup then you don't have the comfy feeling of thinking you have a backup.

    When you test your restore, be sure you test it on a machine and tape drive other then the one you used to create the backup. Tape drives easily fall out of alignment. An out of alignment tape drive will generate an out of alignment tape. A mis-aligned tape may work fine in the drive that created it, but may not be readable on any other tape drive. This does you no good if the only tape drive that can read the tape is in a melted ruin.

    If you are in a Microsoft network environment or any other environment that uses a central security or configuration database, (domain controller, directory server, etc.) don't forget to have a backup plan for that as well. Recovering the data is only part of the battle; you also have to recover the logins, security rights, and all other configuration aspects of your network.

    Did you remember to store a copy of the install media and license codes for your backup software at your off-site location along with your backup media? How about written copies of your hardware and software configurations?

    As others have noted, a safe-deposit box at a bank not too physically close to your computers is an economical option. I use this option for my home network. A down side to this is you can only get to your backup media during the bank's operating hours. If you need better access, a professional off-site storage company may be a better option. Many will pick up, deliver, and manage rotations for you.

    Finally, don't forget that there are other things then fire and flood and natural disasters that can keep you from your physical equipment. Your data may be safe on your servers, but you might not be able to get to your servers if there is a chemical spill, civil unrest, or some other police action happening between you and your equipment.