[pmmail-list] Backup Strategy was Digest (01/20/2003 09:01) (#2003-430)

[John Angelico]

On Mon, 20 Jan 2003 09:01:23 -0500, jimmym@blueprintsoftwareworks.com
wrote:

>Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2003 08:48:22 +0100
>From: "Sorin Srbu" <sorin@orgfarm.uu.se>
>Subject: Re: [pmmail-list] Please, I need advice.  2nd request (was Folders changed nests)


>>And - unless someone just has to do so, it is not necessary to point
>>out that I should have had a *current* backup which unfortunately I did
>>not have.
>
>Does *anybody* have a good backup-discipline at home? I think
>not... 8-)

Good backup strategy is usually derived from experience with a bad backup
strategy <g>

I believe a good backup strategy could be built on a few key points:
1. minimal backup time and effort 
to help discourage the thought "ah, leave it for a day/week"

2. selective recovery of critical data
to cope with the need to recover single files as well as a whole system

3. reliable long-term media
Zip, Jazz, MO, CD-R. 
Sorry, I am anti-tape (please don't argue - it's a religious problem<g>)

4. backup cycle related to time-cycle of the data
If your data changes daily, then backup daily! 
Build a backup cycle of 
a) changed data only on a daily basis (including INI/Register files,
Desktop, Startup folder, Favourites/Bookmarks and similar)
Keep a full week's set of backup media (Mon, Tues, etc) so you can recover
from up to a week ago 
b) do a full data backup say weekly and keep at least two sets (fortnight
or more recovery ability)
c) full op system backup less often eg quarterly
Alternatively if you use CD-R, try to archive entire your system regularly.
Then label it with the full date! 

Have printed *on paper* your recovery strategy for your entire system. Keep
it with licenses, registration keys/codes etc away from your machine, and
with printed instructions for your Desktop recovery program, OS
installation, special driver disks etc
Have a simple restore strategy for single files.

Archive important data (eg. accounting, WP, engineering drawings, whatever
is your main line of business) WITH the program that uses it. No point
successfully recovering the data only to discover you don't have the
correct version of the program (and OS) to access it.

HTH


Best regards
John Angelico
OS/2 SIG
talldad@melbpc.org.au or talldad@kepl.com.au
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