MS Server '03 Backup Solutions...

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koretex

[H]ard|Gawd
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Here is the background...

My company is trying to help out a local non profit (animal shelter) that just got cut off from the counties tit. They are working on a shoe string budget and have a very simple setup....

Windows Storage Server 2003r2 on a Gateway desktop :eek:
30 workstations
Linksys home router
Netgear 24 port switch
HP 24 port switch

This is all the information I have been given. They do ZERO backup right now, and have never done any kind of backup. They are looking for the most cost effective way to backup the server and all workstations. This is not normally what I do so any help would be appreciated.
 
i know one of the things my current work does on some of the o3 systems is.

use the windows backup that creates the .bcf i think is the file extension, then we roll those to tape, could also roll them to a mirror nas or hard drive that is taken offsite.
 
Instead of backing up all the workstations, I would have the users put any data/information they want backed up in a share on the 2k3 server and then just back up the server.

Then use the integrated NT backup with maybe a couple of USB harddrives (rotate them weekly, taking them offsite).

A few questions:
Is everything in a domain?
Do they want you to manage the backup?
 
You can install Cobian Backup on the machines and setup the automated backups to a network drive on the server if it has space on it. If not, you should buy a cheap NAS or something similar.

http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm, you can do incrementals, mirrors, etc etc. Its free and offers advanced backups options.

After be sure that the backups on the server or the NAS are backed on something/somewhere else ie a hard drive, or a NAS, preferably offsite, perhaps one of the manager or administrator who you can trust. Do a backup like this once a week, if its on a portable hard drive, encrypt the hard drive with truecrypt. Like he said on the previous post, you can do a backup on multiple USB hard drives,

You could always do a online backup, with cheap services and some will give you a discount if you are a non-profit/charity. Be sure that depending on what you are backing up online, confidential files should be encrypted.

Its not the way to do backup in entreprises but for a non-profit, it should be enough.

Depending on where you live, you can be elligible for hardaware donations, from techsoup.org, and you should browse their website for backup tips.
 
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ya that'd be the first place to start, how much data are you looking at? is there an AD/Domain? Exchange? or just the file server?
 
Metraon said:
You can install Cobian Backup on the machines and setup the automated backups to a network drive on the server if it has space on it. If not, you should buy a cheap NAS or something similar.

http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm, you can do incrementals, mirrors, etc etc. Its free and offers advanced backups options.

After be sure that the backups on the server or the NAS are backed on something/somewhere else ie a hard drive, or a NAS, preferably offsite, perhaps one of the manager or administrator who you can trust. Do a backup like this once a week, if its on a portable hard drive, encrypt the hard drive with truecrypt. Like he said on the previous post, you can do a backup on multiple USB hard drives,

You could always do a online backup, with cheap services and some will give you a discount if you are a non-profit/charity. Be sure that depending on what you are backing up online, confidential files should be encrypted.

Its not the way to do backup in entreprises but for a non-profit, it should be enough.

Depending on where you live, you can be elligible for hardaware donations, from techsoup.org, and you should browse their website for backup tips.
Click to expand...


I agree with Cobian Backup for this type of setup, get two WD passports and have someone physically rotate them on the server on weekly basis (taking the other offsite)
Setup Cobian to email you reports after each backup OR only upon failure.
 
NTBackup usually is a good choice as long as there is someone monitoring that it's working. Cobian is also a good choice and I think it also has some reporting options so you know whether or not the backups have been successful. Notifications are one of the most important parts of a backup system.

You may also want to CYA and do your due diligence by talking to them about potential licensing issues. Windows Storage Server 2003 was only available via OEM and I doubt Gateway put it on many desktops. :)

Riley
 
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