Summary

VERITAS created a complete and concise step-by-step guide to take the mystery out of backups so you can make informed choices in creating a backup strategy that works for you. While we have a great array of software tools to protect your data, this information will be useful no matter what you decide on.

Step 1 - What do you have to lose?

Step 2 - The backup type that will work best for you

Step 3 - How to build a backup plan or strategy

Step 4 - How to maximize your backups

Step 5 - Backup hardware choices

Introduction

A very successful business consultant buys a new computer every year but, because there just never seems to be the time, doesn't update the backup system as business increases. Certainly, the spotty backup files that are sporadically copied to 250MB Zip Disks will do the job! The inevitable happens: the latest new computer's hard drive crashes after only two weeks. It takes three very long weeks to rebuild all client files either from those Zips or by asking clients and associates for copies of all important e-mail and other files. Additionally, there are the tasks of reconfiguring a new computer and reinstalling all business software.

There is a very high probability of a computer disaster in your future. It's just the nature of the machines we depend on so much. We wrote this practical guide to make it easy to turn your best preventive intentions into data-saving backups. The cost: about $45,000 in lost income and the embarrassment of having clients be aware that their professional consultant does not bother to follow advice frequently given to them: to keep complete backups of everything. It will be hard to attach dollar figures to the loss of credibility and business opportunity, but it is nonetheless real.

Whether it's your business records, school work, family photos, online banking info or those MP3 files you downloaded from the Internet, smart data protection will make sure your data is where you want it, when you want it. And that's the whole point of backups: no downtime.

Step 1 - What do you have to lose?

Determine if you need a backup plan Before you invest time and thought in a backup plan, find out if it's worth the effort in your particular circumstances.

What could happen to my data? Nearly half of the data that disappears from our desktops is due to mechanical failure. Another third gets lost due to simple human error. The Top Ten List of Data Villains also includes Windows crashes, software problems, virus attacks, natural disasters (fire, flood, earthquake), theft and sabotage. Being unprepared can put you out of business, off the Internet and in lots of pain. [Data Source: Home Office Computing, "Bring Back My Data to Me," February 2000, p.80]

What is my data worth to me? One fast way to determine this is to estimate how much of your time it would take to recreate all of your data files, re-download all needed files from the Internet, reinstall all your software and reset every preference. Are there things that you might not be able to replace, like digital photos or special personal e-mails and documents? How much time would it take to reconstruct your online banking data or investment information? If the answers to these questions are not acceptable, then your next step is to develop a backup strategy that is customized to exactly how you use your computer. Most of us stop at this point. We will do our best to help you beyond it. Let's recall what backups are really good for.

The four major benefits of a solid backup strategy:

1) Saves real money. The time and trouble it would take to recreate or reconstruct the data lost in a hard drive disaster almost always amounts to more than the cost of the computer itself. Reliable backups that support restoring your entire system with little or no downtime save you that time and money.

2) Increases productivity. The whole purpose behind backing up your PC is to eliminate downtime. The weeks spent rebuilding a crashed hard drive or reconstructing lost data rob you and your organization of an equal amount of your productive time. The time it takes to build a reliable backup plan more than pays for itself in terms of enhanced productivity.

3) Simplifies how we use our computers. Creating a backup plan may appear to be a formidable task until the few simple steps we outline here answer the question of where to start. Once users see how simple and straightforward the process really is, many report the benefits of 'getting fully organized' spill over into every other way they use their PCs.

4) Creates peace of mind. A few years ago, computers were seen as either business tools or a toy for gamers. They have now been integrated into every aspect of our lives, from business data to personal online banking, from communicating around the world to storing the family photo album. The more you rely on your computer, the more vulnerable your data becomes if you don't back up regularly and reliably.

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Step 2 - The backup type that will work best for you

The three primary considerations here are (1) whether you want to archive or back up your data; (2) what type of backup to use; and (3) whether you want to compress your data to save money and space on media.

1) Backup vs. archiving: Backups can serve several purposes: disaster recovery and data protection, or archiving. When you back up your hard drive, you copy information from the hard drive to your choice of media for the purpose of making it available to be restored quickly in the event of a data loss. The files remain on the hard drive for everyday use. Disaster recovery completely restores all the data on a system by using the boot diskettes or CD media with the data from the last full backup. An archive backup allows you to free up space on your hard drive by copying to media any rarely used applications and files, and then removing them from your hard drive. Archiving data shave time off full backups in the future, because you can delete the archived files from the hard drive.

2) Backup types:

Full Backup: A full backup copies all files, whether or not they have been modified since the last backup. Everything on the computer is copied, including files, folders, applications and preferences.

Differential and incremental backups are known as 'modified backups.' The primary difference between them is that differential backup combines maximum efficiency and effectiveness during a restore, while incremental backup produces maximum efficiency.

Differential Backup: A differential backup copies files that have been modified since the last full backup. The differential method of backup (one full backup plus several differential backups) has two primary advantages: a) it creates redundancy so that a modified file is likely to appear on more than one backup set; and
b) any file can be restored by going to, at most, two known backup sets (the original full backup and the most current differential backup). In other words, the entire disk can be safely restored by employing just the full backup and the latest differential backup. The main drawback of this method is the amount of tape space required for the differential backups.

Incremental Backup: An incremental backup copies only those files that have been modified since the last backup, whether full or incremental. The incremental method of backup (one full backup plus several incremental backups) has one particular advantage: it requires the minimum tape space possible. It also has one significant disadvantage: it is generally necessary to review several tape backup sets to find the file you need. To restore an entire disk, you will need to restore the full backup and then restore every incremental backup in the cycle.

3) Compression: You can save time, money and space on media by compressing to reduce the amount of data during backups. Depending on the types of files, you can achieve a 2:1 or better compression ratio, which allows you to use fewer pieces of media for each backup.

Compression also reduces the number of pieces of storage media you need to buy and the length of time needed for the backup to complete. Compression management can be the job of the backup device or the backup software. Many-but not all-backup devices ship from the manufacturer with compression capabilities built in and are able to reduce the size of data quickly and invisibly during actual backups. While not all backup software includes compression features, any software should automatically recognize the compression capability of any hardware. There is a limit to how far particular types of data can be compressed. Using both hardware and software compression will not double the effectiveness.

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Step 3 - How to build a backup plan or strategy

It can be intimidating to create a backup strategy from scratch if you've never had one before. Our purpose here is to make the entire backup process as straightforward as possible. There are four primary considerations in developing a backup strategy that works for you:

How much of my data do I want to back up? The best suggestion here is to back up any data that you care about and don't want to get deleted or lost.

How often do I need to do full or modified backups? If you use your computer regularly, it makes most sense to follow a backup rotation that is consistent and predictable. You would benefit from a scheduling feature that automatically starts and completes the backup process while you're away from the computer, or runs in the background.

What devices or hardware are available and what is the cost of their media? There are many options for devices so this should be considered heavily.

What software will produce the result I want with the greatest ease? Reliability, features and technical support are important aspects of a good quality data protection software.

This is what we have found to be optimal: If you use your computer every day, you protect your valuable data best with a full backup weekly and an incremental backup every day.

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Step 4 - How to maximize your backups

Creating an effective backup strategy is an important investment of time and thought. Here are a few tips to make that investment pay off:

	Make multiple copies of your backups. Keep one copy conveniently near your computer and at least one copy safely offsite in the event of fire or similar event.
	Do a full backup regularly, even if you back up data files as you go, to preserve your system settings and any software patches you have downloaded from the Internet
	Make it easy to locate files to be archived by creating an archive folder near your current work files folder. When you complete a project, just drag and drop the files into the archive so they are ready to be copied for permanent storage and removed from your hard drive during the next regular backup operation.
	Rotate among at least three sets of backup media. VERITAS recommends at least three sets of CDs, tapes or disks to protect you from a virus or corrupted files that may have made your most recent backups worthless.
	Do a trial restore from your most current backup. This gives you two benefits: you gain valuable practice for when you need to recover from an actual data loss, and you enjoy peace of mind by verifying that your backup is indeed reliable.
	Plan your work and work your plan. The best plan in the world is worthless until you actually use it. Your needs change and so should your backup plan. You are wise to adjust your backup plan when your work routines and computer use patterns change. Tailoring your backup plan as you go will ensure that you are always just one step away from quickly restoring your entire system when disaster strikes.

Step 5 - Backup hardware choices

Storage Capacity The most important factor in choosing a backup device is storage capacity. You need to determine how much data you want to back up.

Keep in mind that the rated storage capacity, especially when evaluating tape drives and compression drives, is usually much higher than you will be able to realize in day to day operation.

Several factors can affect the amount of data that will actually fit on any given medium. For example, compression reduces the space occupied on any given piece of media by the data being copied. This is a feature offered by both hardware and software solutions, and manufacturers often rate their products based on optimum conditions that may not apply to your computer. Another example: the capacity of a tape is easily influenced by the relative speeds of both the backup computer and the tape drive on which it is used.

Other Factors Guiding Your Hardware Decision: After you have determined the storage capacity you need, a variety of other factors will also affect your buying decision, including: device speed, cost, reliability, compression features, compatibility with devices by other manufacturers, and media characteristics (cost, portability, longevity, reliability, etc.).

Multi-Purpose and Backup-Specific Devices Hardware: devices for backing up desktop PCs are available in two types: multi-purpose devices that can be used for other tasks in addition to backing up a hard drive, and backup-specific devices, usually tape drives, that are used only for backing up data. Below, we describe the major advantages and disadvantages of the most popular hardware and media solutions for desktop PCs.

Multi-Purpose Devices: While multi-purpose drives are usually more expensive, or their media are more costly, than backup-specific tape drives, your usage pattern will determine whether this is the best solution for you. Their ability to do double duty for primary archiving, data portability or long-term storage will help you decide if using them also for backup be a good idea.

CD-R and CD-RW Drives: Recordable (CD-R) and rewritable (CD-RW) compact disc drives store and retrieve data on a removable optical disk via a laser. CD-R media can be recorded only once, making them popular for archiving. Best choice for backups is the more expensive CD-RW, which can be re-recorded up to 1,000 times, according to manufacturers. Both are made from the same material as CD-ROM discs and audio compact discs, making them durable and long-lived. Even though they are growing rapidly in popularity, the drives that use CD-R and CD-RW media require special software because they are not supported by most operating systems. While rated at 650MB, discs actually offer about 600MB of usable space. Users who make multiple copies of backups should note that copying is successful only between media with the same rating (i.e., copy between two 650MB discs or two of the newer 700MB discs); transferring data from a 650MB disc to 700MB media is not possible.

Advantages
High media longevity
Fast file retrieval
Low media cost

Disadvantages
Relatively slow speeds
Space on media cannot be re-used to update obsolete files
Cannot become substitutes for hard disks or floppy disks

DVD-RAM Drives: These drives offer the flexibility to work with both proprietary optical media and CD-ROM discs, although the CD-ROM function is read only. Also known as PD or phase change drives, they are capable of storing 2.6 GB or more of data on each side of each optical cartridge. Useful for both backup and archiving, PD optical cartridges work much like removable hard disk cartridges, MO cartridges or floppy disks.

Advantages
High media capacity
High media longevity
Reads and writes PD disks
Doubles as a CD-ROM drive

Disadvantages
High media cost
Relatively slow performance

Removable Cartridge Drives - Zip™, Jaz™ and SuperDisk: These devices use removable disks or cartridges that can do a good backup job for you if your hard disk is less than 10GB. Their random access feature makes them equally useful as either storage devices for backup/archiving or as desktop-mountable volumes. Zip cartridges have either 100 MB or 250 MB capacity, depending on the model. Jaz cartridges have 1 GB capacity, and SuperDisks (LS120) have a 120 MB capacity.

Advantages
Random access translates into fast file retrieval
Flexibility of use (transport, supplemental storage, backup/archiving)

Disadvantages
Media cost is high
Media storage capacity is relatively low and does not allow for unattended backup of large hard drives because the user needs to be there and change out media.

Floppy Disk Drives: Since virtually every PC ships with a floppy disk drive, inexpensive little 1.44MB disks were everyone's first backup tool. They still have their limited effectiveness when it comes to portability and compatibility for small jobs. However, especially with highly optimized backup software, the time it would require to swap out the dozens or hundreds of disks to back up today's multi-gigabyte hard drives is unacceptable to most users.

Advantages
Very low media cost
No additional hardware to buy
Ideal for very small jobs; portable; compatible

Disadvantages
Very slow backup speed
Very low media capacity
Low media reliability
Requires constant attention when backing up and restoring

Second Hard Drive: Installing a second hard drive in your PC often serves the primary purpose of insuring continued operation in the event of a hard disk crash (disk mirroring), rather than a pure backup function. For example, since both hard drives are installed in the same PC, the data on both disks is gone in the event of fire or theft. If you do choose this solution, be sure that the second disk has greater capacity than the one it is intended to back up. Also, bear in mind that PC power supplies are one of the components that fail relatively often. If that happens, both hard drives will be as inaccessible. If you decide to go this route, you might want to think about getting a capable power standby system as well.

Advantages
High speed backups
Fast file retrieval
Second hard disk allows continued operation if first disk crashes

Disadvantages
Expensive backup solution
Second hard disk does not protect against accidental deletion, corrupt data, viruses, natural disaster or theft.
Does not protect data under all conditions

Network Servers: Backing up your PC to your organization's network server has several great advantages: enormous speed and storage capacity coupled with the troubleshooting expertise and reliability of a skilled network administrator. Be sure to observe the organization's policy on storage of personal data (particularly e-mail) and determine whether you might be responsible for backing up certain personal information on your own.

Advantages
No additional cost to you
High speed
Enormous storage capacity
Technical troubleshooting expertise

Disadvantages
Personal information may be prohibited, thus vulnerable
Unlikely to be available for archiving
You need to rely on somebody else to help restore data to your PC

Magneto-Optical Drives: MO drives use light to store data on a removable optical disk, rather than the magnetic coatings used in disk drives. That means most magneto-optical drives require three passes over the optical disk to write information to it (reading takes only one pass). This results in a trade-off for operations like backup: actual copying of files is relatively slow while retrieving information (especially specific files) can be fast. MO drives feature a higher capacity (over 200 MB) than other removable cartridge drives. Their flexibility makes them appealing to users who routinely perform multiple tasks.

Advantages
High media longevity
Fast file retrieval

Disadvantages
Slower backup speeds
Expensive media

Backup-Specific Devices 8mm Tape Drives: These drives use a helical scan method to store huge quantities of data on the data version of the tape cartridges used in 8mm video equipment. There are important distinctions in the amount of uncompressed storage capacity offered by entry level vs. high end 8mm tape drives. Entry level 8mm drives range from 2GB to 7 GB, while the higher end drives offer the greatest speed and highest capacity with 20GB to 50GB of uncompressed storage.

Advantages
High capacity (very good with high end drive)
Entry level: low media cost
High end: greater speed allows more data to be backed up per time period

Disadvantages
Entry level: drive is more costly than DAT or most tape drives
Entry level: file restore is relatively slow
High end: high cost for individual media

Travan Tape Drives: Travan drives can be seen as the 'moderate' solution: moderate in cost, moderate in capacity, good choices for those with moderate backup needs. Travan tape drives were developed specifically for computers, while DAT and 8mm drives borrow their technology from the audio and video industries, respectively. Data is stored in a linear manner, so per-tape capacity is usually lower than DAT or 8mm. Capacity of Travan tape hardware ranges from 4GB to 13GB, with compression potentially doubling the storage of a given drive.

Advantages
Drive cost is moderate

Disadvantages
High cost for individual media
Media usually lower capacity than DAT or 8mm

DLT Drives™: Digital Linear Tape (DLT) drives are often described as the fastest available, but the key to realizing this high performance is using them under ideal conditions. Current models are available in capacities up to 40GB, with compression potentially doubling the rated storage capacity. Advantages · High speed lets you back up more data per time period · Very high tape capacity · Media longevity better than other tape types Disadvantages · Drive cost is high · Media cost is high DAT Drives: Three factors account for the current popularity of 4mm Digital Audio Tape (DAT) drives: low cost, rapid speed, and the relatively low cost of media when compared to its high capacity. Data is stored to the special data grade tape in 4mm DAT cartridges via a helical scan method. Compatibility between drives from different manufacturers can be another plus; check that both use the same format and compression features for a good match. DAT drives are an especially good choice for users with large hard disks and have now become an industry standard in backup hardware, thanks to their reputation for high capacity, reliability and low cost. Models on the market now range from 1.3GB to 20GB of storage. Drives with compression bring total capacity up to 40GB. A variety of tape libraries and autoloaders include one or more DAT drives.

Advantages
Cost of drive is moderate
High storage capacity
Low cost of media

Disadvantages
Drive costs more than some lower capacity drives

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Step 6 - Backup software choices

The most effective backup software solutions feature:
Desirable speed and performance
Ease of installation and use
Verification capabilities to guard against potential data loss
Multiple ways to reduce user errors
Flexibility to tailor your own custom backup strategy
Ease in restoring your entire system
Elimination of downtime that could cost you money

VERITAS gives you the tools to create reliable backups you can safely bet your data on. VERITAS, the world's third largest software company, is in the business of delivering solutions that allow continuous availability of critical business data to a global community of customers in all industries. We call it Business Without Interruption™. Our data protection solutions for enterprises encompass the corporate data center as well as traveling laptop users, and everything in between. Coming from the industry leader in data protection and storage management, the home office and small office software products we talk about here are built with the same technology and expertise that you find in our solutions that support the computing operations of Fortune 500 companies or e-commerce.

VERITAS Simple Backup™[Link to product specifications on website.]
Simple Backup™ is designed for non-technical Windows 95/98/NT users who want streamlined user-friendly backups at a low price. Optimized for use with a host of CD-R/CD-RW devices,

VERITAS Backup Exec Desktop Edition™[Link to product specifications on website.]
VERITAS Backup Exec™ is today's most powerful and feature-rich Windows 95/98/NT/2000 Professional backup/restore and archive solution. It combines the ease of use and intuitive interface of Simple Backup™ with the highest available backup versatility and reliability.

VERITAS Backup Exec™ supports a host of the newest devices, launches complete backups and restores with its One Button feature, automates unattended backup operations, and uses a catalog search engine to locate as little as one backed up file quickly and easily. It also includes a disaster recovery solution that restores a system from the ground up without reinstalling the operating system. We invite you to try our sample backup strategy recommendations as you evaluate the VERITAS solutions that work best for you. You can also evaluate Backup Exec Desktop Edition for 30-days free of charge by downloading your complimentary evaluation copy.

For the Home Office or Small Business Office: Usage: about 10% of files change every day; strong need for archiving data files and applications no longer used often. Recommendation: use VERITAS Backup Exec™ with Zip/Jaz™ Drive, CD-R/RW recorder or tape system to automate daily incremental backups and weekly full backups.

For the Recreational Computer: Usage: gaming and surfing the Internet; creating audio CDs from downloaded files. Recommendation: Back up everything with VERITAS Backup Exec™ or Simple Backup™. To save money, use CD-R media for most work and use more costly CD-RW media for discs you carry between home and work, between home and school, etc.

For the Office at Home: Usage: online banking and financial record keeping. Recommendation: use VERITAS Simple Backup™ or Backup Exec™ to do a full backup each time your data changes. At a minimum, back up to CD-R/RW and consider adding tape media if your system is especially large.

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