backup routine for small business

J

jcmuse

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 10, 2006
Messages
329
ok i have about 10 computers on a sbs 2003 server.
the server has 2 hdds, 1 for data, 1 for backup. it is backed up every night via the sbs backup utility which just backups all the files and also acronis true image which does an entire image/clone of the first hdd so i can restore the entire system from just that image.

as far as the individual comps... i have 2 using file redirection so all the files on the desktop and my docs are actually located on the server, so they get backed up every night. i am afraid to do this with all the comps as i think it would put to much stress on the server.

i am thinking what i should do is build a backup server with a raid setup, and have the workstations somehow backup up to there. at least with a raid setup i dont have to worry about backing up a backup.

what do you guys think? What is the ideal setup for a small business? There is also the issue of offsite storage which i have yet to find a good solution for. I have a removable hdd but it just isn't practical because backups are scheduled late at night, not to mention the owners can not be bothered to worry about bringing it home every day. could a hot swappable hdd work better for this sort of thing? at least that way they wouldnt have to mess with usb cords. any thoughts on actual products?

thanks
 
How big is the really important data? How fast does it grow? Depending on that answer I would use a CD/ DVD/ Tape drive to make ``real'' backups.
 
As drizzt said just how important is the data?

For offsite you could do a removable drive and just have them take it home every week.
 
RAID is not backup and backup is not RAID they serve two totally different purposes.

RAID is to keep the server running if a hard drive fails, it provides no backup at all.

Backup is to recover data from a point in time that is lost for any reason.

To do a backup correctly, get a tape drive and backup to that, rotating the tapes daily, and keeping off site a copy that is new enough for your comfort level. (I keep weekly tapes off site.. daily would be better but in the event of a fire etc. losing a few days work isn't that huge in my case)
 
ok the most important data is the quickbooks database (accounting software). i'm now considering just doing backups every night over the internet through some sort of webdrive software (software that can map a drive to an ftp server which i will setup at another location). all i would be backing up is the quickbooks database, which totals around 300mb but i think i will try to workout some sort of incremental backup. ideally yes i would do backups to a dvd or something but they do not have an IT person fulltime and they won't be able to do it themselves. i need something more automatic/handsfree. anyway, the chances of both the server and remote server crashing is slim i think. what are your thoughts on this?

as far as workstation backups.. i still have yet to find a good solution for this. With the correct raid config, everything on 1 hdd is mirrored to another, correct? so if one dies, i still have the other until i can install a new hdd, right? call it what you want but isn't this essentially a backup?
 
jcmuse said:
With the correct raid config, everything on 1 hdd is mirrored to another, correct? so if one dies, i still have the other until i can install a new hdd, right? call it what you want but isn't this essentially a backup?
Click to expand...

Hard drive failure is probably less than 5% of the cause for loss of data..

Virus, accidental deletion, fire, someone kicked the cat and it bumped the server, someone helpfully "freed up space" on the server, break in and computer theft etc. are all more common causes of data loss.

RAID (and RAID 0 is not RAID) only addresses keeping the system running in the event of a drive failure, and nothing else. If a virus deletes the data on one drive, the RAID system happily and correctly deletes it off the other at the exact same time. etc.
 
Redirecting all the workstations to the server (My Documents mainly) should 'stress' the server much, just remember to disable 'offline files' for the desktops.

I have a sbs2003 server with 13 workstations connection, 5 desktops have MyDocs redirected and the CPU useage averages 8%, I add another workstation to the redirected MyDocs OU each week.

The sbs2003 backup backs up each night at 10pm to tape, single 36/72 dat drive, the office lady just changes the tape each AM

There is a tape for Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri 1, Fri 2, Fri 3, Fri 4, Fri 5,
Mon-Thurs tapes are reused the next week
new Friday tape for each week, each not being used until at least the next month, with the last Friday of each month being saved and a new tape put into rotation

- shadow copies are enabled on the server as well, 7am and 3pm snapshots (they work 8am to 5pm)

They backup 27gb of data and the backup finishes around 1am, if the backups run at night, you shouldnt have to worry about anything
 
dbwillis said:
[...]
new Friday tape for each week, each not being used until at least the next month, with the last Friday of each month being saved and a new tape put into rotation

- shadow copies are enabled on the server as well, 7am and 3pm snapshots (they work 8am to 5pm)

They backup 27gb of data and the backup finishes around 1am, if the backups run at night, you shouldnt have to worry about anything
Click to expand...
Wow that sounds like an excellent setup. Why should he disable offline files? Do you have a data destruction policy in place as well?
 
jcmuse said:
There is also the issue of offsite storage which i have yet to find a good solution for.
Click to expand...
jcmuse, please check out this thread about some discussions we previously had about offsite storage.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1181065
and
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1177634

In it I try and let the OP know about some good things to look for when searching for an offsite provider.

I can give you the same deal I give the other hard forum members that have signed up with my company. I do a special rate for them. Its 20GB Compressed capacity, for only $10 per month.

Take a look at the other threads to see the features of our software.
 
thanks guys.
i guess raid isnt really want i want then
just gonna do offsite via ftp (webdrive).

for workstations i guess the best thing to do is just enable folder redirection with sbs, and continue doing my backups with true image. i'll probably add a backup server too, so there is an original and a backup on the server, then another backup on another system. maybe add a hotswappable hdd bay too, any suggestions for this (newegg link?)?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top