How can I Backup Critical Data on a Network

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’d like to setup a reliable solution to backup an assortment of home office workstations (about 7 in total including one offsite) that run windows xp & mac os x (mostly the former). I think I’d like to centralize the data at some point (i.e. a fileserver that mirrors local data or something?) and then archive it either optically or onto a tape. Although the data is extremely valuable its really not very large and would likely fit onto a duel-layer dvd. So what I’m looking for is an easy-to-use solution that would be comprised of backup software (right now I have my eye on BakBone Netvault, but its expensive and complicated), a fileserver (I’m thinking maybe a mac mini or xserve) and then either a dvd-burner or tape drive.

Does anyone have any opinions on this type of system in a home-office environment?

much obliged…

-x-

2

If you’re looking for a commercial package you could try Retrospect (http://www.emcinsignia.com/), or if you prefer open source look at Amanda (http://www.zmanda.com/products.html).

3

neat, thanks! What should I use for a backup server? Is a mac-mini sufficient or do I need a big expensive x-serve?

4

Generally, you need a bigger machine to handle more volume (number of clients, amount of data, etc). With only 7 or so clients and not much data, I would expect a moderately classed linux/windows box to be more than adequate and allow for growth. One thing to check would be what platforms the server portion of the backup software you supports (alot of them support Macs as clients but not all support Macs as servers).

5

You’re on the right track with wanting to back up and centralising data. When centralising data, you should engineer in some redundancy. Mirroring the storage volume is probably the simplest. If you think the business-critical data will fit onto one dual-layer DVD, then I suggest you use exactly that method. However, what about the rest of your data? How long would it take to recreate that? Bearing in mind the cost issue, I’d suggest you look into a couple of USB HDDs and simply mirror the storage volume on a regular but infrequent schedule (e.g. once a month).

The joker is the off-site computer. How much data does it hold? How frequently can it be synced with the server?

6

The home office is comprised of machines for a medical practice and a seperate business, the offsite box is also for the medical practice and so the amount of data is actually quite small, probably around 100 megs, which could be uploaded back home on a nightly/weekly basis without too much difficulty.