Backup Anytime

10 Online storage traps.

Data retention period.
Any data retention period or version number limits will apply regardless of how much space is offered. Ensure you check these stats. Space as a singular variable can do little to save you from retention limit traps.

Third party software.
The focus here is industry specific or custom software which you use in your business. Often, programmes from smaller software houses with limited Beta participants can present difficulties from a backup point of view. One of these is version and patch history. The net effect of this cam be that a disaster recovery leaves you in a scenario in which you have the backup files as required by the software vendor but there are potential difficulties or delays regarding which versions, patches, updates or installation types match your environment at the time of the backup or incident. For these reasons it may be prudent to demand a test restore without use of the existing software load. In this type of restore you would simulate a disaster recovery. All the vendor would have is what he or she said they needed. Only this type of test can verify that the culmination of software, backups and software vendor instructions add up to adequate protection.

Hidden charges.
Charges can apply to installation, licensing, support, transfer, restore, disaster recover, agreed limit excess and many more service components which you may believe to be included. Any comparison between any two providers will be of limited possible accuracy if these details are not clarified from the outset.

Supplier dependability.
Absolutely no assumptions can be made here. Insist on references appropriate to your business and check them.

Supplier autonomy.
Any dependence to third party companies which your chosen online backup company must work under bring potential future difficulties and risk to your data. Your providers ability to maintain these relationships may depend on technical, marketing or financial commitments about which you have no control. If possible, identify a provider who offers multiple solution types and is not dependent on any outside entity. If there is an outside entity then you need to establish communication with them or even consider going direct.

Automated billing.
Beware of automated billing. Your systems may suddenly start backing up exceptionally large quantities of data without any intention on your behalf to make this happen. This (in an automated billing environment) could result in non communicated charges to your credit card or bank account and leave you uninformed regarding inaccuracies in your backup set. Fair billing on the other hand works by charging an agreed amount per month. Should your data quantities exceed a crucial point you will be alerted to this and can decide if you want the excess data included or assistance with removing it.

Auto select dangers.
Correct use of auto select features in online storage systems assists with ensuring important file types are included. Inappropriate auto select usage or failure to revisit and check auto-select settings can result in new file types or extensions for critical applications being overlooked. As with many very helpful technology functions, auto select is a double edged sword and requires attention to detail to ensure it works with the organisation.

Encryption code data lockout.
No matter how uninvolved or hands off your providers are you should have received much in the way or communications and warnings from them regarding the retention, storage and management of encryption information. If this is not the case, you should consider moving to a new supplier as a matter of urgency. Your encryption details are specific to you and should be know only by you. The level of encryption used needs by default to be strong enough to protect your data and as a consequence is likely strong enough to lock you out should you not manage your encryption and encryption details correctly. Your provider has a respnsibility to ensure you are aware of this. If your providers ensures you are aware of this then they are offered some protection from any charge of you being locked out of your data through neglecting your encryption responsibilities about which you have been informed and subsequently reminded. If this is the first you have heard of encryption responsibilities then you should move to another remote backup provider as a matter of urgency.

Data in transit security.
Remote storage companies in the main like to speak of the level of encryption they offer for data in storage. You will hear less specific information regarding the encryption provided fro data in transit. This is predictably enough because the encryption provided for data in transit is generally less that offered for data in storage. This is common among providers but needs to be looked at if you want a like with like comparison and more importantly want to ensure your data in transit is safe.

Database support.
Don’t allow any provider to convince you that you will not need data base support. Databases are more than common. The level of pervasiveness of database application even at home user level is leading to databases becoming likely to be considered ubiquitous from a backup viewpoint. Ensure your chosen company gives you SQL, Exchange and open file management as standard. Any charges for these components could make what seems like good value today a very expensive proposition in time to come. Also, the inclusion of support for these data types reduces the likelihood of an attempt to apply improper backup f these data types as integrated support often in itself highlights these data types and makes correct backup procedure not just more likely but somewhat more difficult to get wrong.

The right way to backup up a database.

How do you backup SQL is a question you will hear from people who actually know something about SQL. They know it is not a drag and drop file environment. They know it needs to be treated differently. They may not know much more about it but if everyone knew as mush as they do, SQL would be safer.

All backup systems need to be tested. Few more so than those involving open file management, SQL or Microsoft Exchange. All too often, users believe that they can simply select a file or use a drag and drop approach to backup everything. This is an organisational failing. If the person running the backups does not know how to backup or worse again believes incorrectly that he knows how to backup, the company data and therefore the company is in a negative situation which can only get worse.

We are not looking to reinvent the wheel here. Simple backup is simple. Other types of backup such as SQL require a specific approach which when used from the outset and protected from over zealous untrained persons works well.

Your backup software (and if you are backing up these file types you should be using backup software) should identify SQL and Exchange environments distinctly from those of standard closed files. The software will request specific information to connect to databases. This information can be obtained from the data base administrators and server administrator. If you don’t have the information you will not be able to connect. This should be taken as a prompt to speak with those persons.

Unfortunately, a little knowledge can be a very dangerous thing and it is common for wannabe administrators to seek shortcuts by finding files manually and simply selecting them for backup.  This works well where it is supposed to. It never works for SQL or Exchange.

If you don’t know the user name or password for the database you need to find out or better still get those who do know to sit in on the backup configuration.

Additionally, after the backup has complete and run over a few sessions, you need to do a test restore. Why? Because you are not using simple backup. If it failed on the first run there is little possibility of it suddenly coming good. Computers operate in a very simple world. If it is right (and it must be because you said so) it will always be right (unless you say otherwise) so understand that your initial instructions will be carried to the letter no matter how wrong they may be. The absence of a cop on chip for computers dictates this is not set to change anytime soon.

So, if you want to backup a data base, back up a database, not a component or a locked entity. If you cant backup a data bases then here is the question and answer you need to remember.

Q. How do you backup SQL or Exchange?

A. Get someone else to do it.

It’s a little like being asked to hand start a prop aircraft. You are proficient or you are not. There is no middle ground.

Your initial online backup configuration will likely reflect the level of simplicity or complexity attributable to you local network. This said, the turnaround from initial install to second successful backup (The first is always full and latter backups may be full, incremental, differential, delta backup or bit backup) should be swift. Broadly, swift is in the range of two days to one week.

Once running you should receive backup notifications (normally by email) every day from your online backup system or provider. These notifications should reflect one of the following from the subject header.

Success, online backup completion with exceptions or failure. You can open the email for more specific general information and open an attachment for detailed information. If you receive no notification this should point to either the mail being blocked or bouncing. The only other likely explanation is a failure at provider level which you should get on to straight away.

Lets look through these four scenarios.

Backup successful

You receive an email saying the backup was successful. All this means is that the selected data was backed up. It does not mean your selection includes all data you want to backup. This needs to be correct from the outset and amended as your requirement and network change. This is one of the reasons we encourage the involvement of local I.T. in the data selection and reselection process.

Backup exceptions.

This generally means that your backup actually took place and that some of the data did not backup. Your provider may not have an adequate level of open file management support. Your configuration of exchange or SQL backup may not be correct. You may have left open applications which need to be closed for the backup to run or which interfere with backup file access. Ironically, this may be another data backup utility.

Backup failure.

Generally this means the backup did not take place at all. The system could have been off. The time set for backup could be incorrect. Depending on services mode selection, your system clock could be incorrect. There could have been a general system crash or you may have a faulty system or an incompatibility with your chosen backup software. This needs to be addresses as a matter of urgency and another backup system (even a local manual one) needs to be used in the interim.

The difficulties outlined above should not be considered normal or expected on a frequent basis. The whole idea behind an automated backup system is that it should run smoothly providing protection and value. If you are having these issues with an online backup system and your provider considers them par for the course, contact backupanytime and we will resolve to assist.

Please be aware that if you have local infrastructure difficulties, these will need to be resolved before any system will work effectively.

Whats new in online backup?

No more software agent installations reqwuired for Exchange and SQL server.

Previously, it was a requirement to install different versions of software for different environments but now one install can support all environments regardless of individual system, network and software settings. This reduces the installation time required, makes installation much more efficient and therefore saves money.

More online backup news

Delta / Bit backup now standard installation.

The increased uptake of delta or bit backup has made this the standard installation type for most users. Previously, full and subsequent incremental backup was the norm. Bit backup has been around for some time and is far more efficient than incremental backup as it onlt backs up the changed portion of a file rather than complete files changed.

News regarding  broadband burst and online backup

Broadband burst incorporated in major backups. backupanytime entered in to discussions with a number of broadband prviders some time ago with the initial intention of partnering with one broadband provider. This lead to partnerships with a number of providers and ultimately the facility for even some standard commercial broadband clients being able to incorporate burst rates for first full and archive lead full backups. There is no need for clients to use backupanytimes white lable broadband to avail of this. Please note that this facility applies to Irish clients only and to a degree to UK mobile workforce users on the Orange 3G network.

Online backup news for administrators

Web login for Administrators.

Web administrators may now access any or all of their data from the internet. This facility is not available to standard users so if you call to avail of it we will divert your query to your company data administrator who can decide to make you an administrator. Access to this facility for standard users may be incorporated in late 08 but will still require local admin approval.

 Compeditive upgrade online backup news

Online backup compeditive upgrade.

If you are backing up oline with any other provider and would like to avail of all the benefits of dealing with backupanytime, we have just added one more reason to the list. All clients moving from another online backup provider to Backupanytime (current provider copy invoice required as proof) are entitled to 100% off installation, 100% of software and 20% additional space!

New Uk payment options for online backup

UK clients may now pay by cheque.

Up ’till last month, UK clients had to pay by credit card as we had no facility to cear sterling cheques. UK clients may now pay by credit card, cheque or paypall. 

big boot

Well, that is somewhat tongue in cheek. I have never heard of a .pst file which prevented a systems from booting but I have over the years come accross many .pst files which were too big to be usable in a beneficial manner. Some years ago this was attributed to the user having an old version of Outlook. Some things dont change because it is the most commonly suggested solution to this day if the user does not have the absolute latest version of Outlook.

The real issue is that Outlook works well up to specifc file sizes. In earlier years there was a circ 2 gig limit on the usable Outlook pst file but later versions can work (not should or definitely will) with considerably larger files.

You can approach this issue from a number of different perspectives.

If outlook actually works but is just slow on occasion or specific tasks.

You could get a later version of outlook.  You can upgrade your RAM or get a system with a more capable processor.

If outlook wont open at all you may need to use a ulitity (Microsoft or third party) to fix the .pst file and another to crop it down to a usable level.

Again, after the immediate file issue is resolved you can upgrade outlook and your hardware.

Another option is to use another mail client. Mozilla is a common choice as it is reported as being more capable with large mail quantities.  Common issue here however are the added functionality of outlook such as callender and office features.

Other possibilities are to consider using exchange as this reduces the local system resource required on a per mail access basis.