Posts tagged Backup
Data Security Backup Rules
Mar 17th
If you back up your data to a managed service provider’s server or to the cloud, does your provider need to meet all of the data security standards you do? This vexing question becomes more complex as the number and scope of standards expands.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a contractual obligation between credit card providers VISA, Master Card, and American Express with companies that that process credit card data and maintain personally identifiable information (PII). The standard is very prescriptive as to how data is protected and transmitted, but it does not require that a third party storing such data be required to meet the same data security requirements as the company that owns the data. That means it is perfectly acceptable for a company that processes credit card data and that has PII, such as credit card numbers or Social Security Numbers, to encrypt the data and then store it offsite. — just so long as your storage provider does not have the encryption keys and has no way of decrypting the data.
The key to protecting data that is backed up or archived is encryption. According to the PCI DSS standard, “Implement and use strong cryptography (such as SSH, VPN, or SSL/TLS) for encryption of any non-console administrative access to payment application or servers in cardholder data environment.” If data is encrypted, the standard allows for that data to be transmitted to a third party without additional security measures at the receiving site. That said, it behooves you to use secure data backup partners, regardless of what the standard say.
That is not the case for all standards. If, for example, your company is governed by The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, then your provider will indeed need to be HIPAA compliant as well. Federal regulations are very strict when it comes to medical records, although there is plenty of flexibility in the standard that defines who can have access. Essentially, authorized individuals include everyone from medical practitioners and hospital or clinic personnel to insurance adjusters and clerks.
Some non-medical or medical-related groups, such as law enforcement and federal intelligence agencies, also can obtain access to HIPAA-protected medical records, with or without a warrant. This becomes an issue when the records are held by a third party, such as an MSP. If a warrant is required to access confidential corporate data, only the company that physically holds the data – the MSP or cloud storage provider, for example – would get the warrant; the owner of the data might not know the data is being released.
If your company is bound by any data security standards, it is incumbent on the IT manager to know if that data can be encrypted and stored off-site. Failure to follow the rules set forth in the standards could end up costing the data’s owner with significant fines, loss of your corporate reputation, and in some cases, potential criminal litigation.
For more information on backup and disaster recovery, visit http://www.genie9.com
Risk Analysis = Constant Vigilance
Mar 14th
How much risk are you willing to take with your data? Could your company survive if your systems crashed and your data wasn’t available for a day, a week or a month? Chances are you’d be in the same boat as so many other companies that go out of business when their data is lost.
So what do you do to protect yourself? The answer might seem a bit obvious, but it isn’t. Sure, you need to back up your data. That’s pretty obvious. What isn’t obvious is where and how you do it.
If your business does a lot of transactions or makes modifications to files frequently, then you need a backup product that works as hard as you do. You need to keep constant vigilance over your data. In this case, you should consider a software program that will make constant backups of your data when it changes.
If your company makes relatively few changes on an hourly basis — changes that can be easily recreated if they are lost temporarily — then you might consider a product that backs up your system on a daily basis. If you are in business, then it is probably too risky to just do weekly backups; too much data could be lost.
Now consider where you want to put your backups. Backing up locally means you can access your backups very quickly. This is a great way to do full system restores or to grab a file or folder that was accidently deleted without delay.
However, local backups have their issues as well. If your company is hit by a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, fire or storm and the local office is without power or destroyed, then you will want to have an offsite backup as well. Backing up to a cloud-based service, in conjunction with local backup, gives you the best of both worlds. Cloud backup gives you the ability to restore your system anywhere, anytime. It will be a slower process than a network-attached backup server, but if that backup server is also destroyed or unable to power up, it’s your best alternative.
Experts recommend that you opt for a backup solution that provides you with the greatest flexibility — local and remote, file-based for quick backups with the ability to do a bare-metal restore, and a simple interface that will make the entire process easy when you in the midst of a stressful event.
For more information on cloud- and local-based backups with continuous data protection, visit Genie9 at http://www.genie9.com
Backup Your System Before Downloading Windows 7 SP1
Mar 9th
With the release of Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1, it’s easy to feel the need to download the latest code to make your PC faster, more secure and more reliable. But before you fulfill that need there are steps to take before installing the service pack.
Microsoft’s first major upgrade and bug fix to Windows 7 is massive; using Windows Update, it requires 750MB for x86-based systems and a little more than 1 GB for 64-bit x64-based systems. If you plan to download SP1 from Microsoft’s web site, you need 4.1 GB of free space for 32-bit x86-based systems and a whopping 7.4 GB for 64-bit x64-based systems.
Before downloading and installing this update, it is advisable to make sure you have a current, full backup of your system. Bad things happen to good computers, even when you’re doing the right thing and updating the operating system. A brief power surge, a corrupt download, or simply an incomplete update can lead to the destruction of your operating system, making the system unbootable. However, the proverbial ounce of prevention can save the day.
Before installing the update, run your disk backup software and create a bootable backup of your system. If your backup software has a bootable CD or DVD, then simply back up all of the contents on your hard disk. This includes hidden and system files, so make sure your software can back up those files as well.
Simply backing up your Documents folder will keep your data files safe, but it won’t help you restore your system to full operation.
If you do not have any backup software, download a trial version from a name-brand vendor such as Genie9. You can download a free copy of Genie Timeline 2.1 or a trial version of Genie9’s other backup and restore applications at http://www.genie9.com/download/download.aspx. Once you have your system backed up, then, and only then, install Windows 7 Service Pack 1.
It’s fast and easy to protect your computer from potentially damaging software. Contrast that to the pain and hardship of trying to recover from a failed system upgrade and you will agree that a few minutes of preparation is an inexpensive price to pay for peace of mind.
Should You Back Up a Virtual Machine?
Mar 6th
Virtualization has been touted as the future of data center computing — fewer pieces of hardware are consolidated to address the same or more computing requirements than in the past. However, as IT managers consolidate their resources, the question arises: Do I back up my virtual machine or simply make another copy of it?
One of the misconceptions about virtualization is that as you reduce the amount of computing resources, you also reduce storage resources. In fact, the opposite is true; storage becomes more important and a larger percentage overall of the IT budget.
Generally speaking, backup software will treat the virtual machines differently than a physical server. Running multiple virtual servers on a single physical server results in better resource use during normal operations but can, in some cases, overwhelm those resources during backup. When you have multiple virtual servers running on one host, performance could be reduced during a backup as applications battle for bandwidth. You can, however, run the backup in the background, reducing this fight for resources.
Backing up a in a virtual environment generally requires that VMs be shut down or put into a saved state. This is because part of the virtual machine state information is stored in memory. The state information in memory, plus the state of the virtual hard disk files, along with the state of the configuration file, makes up the current state of the virtual machine. If you choose to back up the files for a running virtual machine, they are most likely in an inconsistent state. Backing the virtual volumes in this state can result in corrupted data in the backup copy.
For additional information on backup products and technology, visit www.genie9.com
How to Pick A Backup Vendor
Feb 21st
Users today are inundated with backup tools. Some come with the Windows operating system. Some are bundled in with DVD-writing software. Still others are stand-alone disk imaging or file-based backup products. It is easy to information overload, making it difficult to make a decision as to which is best for a given user’s circumstances.
Here are some rules to help you decide which product is right for you.
First, let’s start with products that ship with the operating system. Millions of users today still use Windows XP and Vista. These operating systems come with a utility called Windows Restore. While that might sound like a general purpose backup product, it is not. It only restores key Windows files. If your system has a failure, Windows Restore might get Windows working again, but it will not help you restore your data or applications.
Windows 7 and Vista offer a Backup & Restore feature, but if you want to back up to a network location, you will need the Professional or Ultimate versions. The capabilities found in the Windows backup offering are rather basic; if you require continuous data backup, deduplication, or other advanced capabilities, you need to look at backup products from vendors that specialize in backup, such as Genie9’s Timeline.
As noted, some programs that are designed for particular applications, such as disc-burning software, also are bundled with a rudimentary backup program. These are generally programs that will give you the most basic of backup capabilities; they are not meant to a disaster recovery or full system backup application. Companies that bundle these utilities with their primary programs are not in the backup business. They often will purchase barebones backup applications from other companies and add them to their “suites,” just so they can say they offer backup.
In order to get the best backup programs, you should look at companies that make their business in backup. While it is no guarantee that a company that sells primarily backup products will have the best offerings for every user, you generally can expect a higher quality backup program with a better user interface from a backup company rather than someone who just buys software and bundles it as a check-off item.
Now that you’ve decided to buy from a vendor that specializes in backup, how do you choose which is right for you? First, look at the company’s offerings. If a company offers primarily consumer-based programs with minimal functionality and scalability, it’s generally not the best choice for a small to mid-size business. Ideally, you will want to download a trial version of the software and put it through its paces in your environment. There are big differences amongst the different backup products in terms of usability, scalability, features and functions. Getting hands-on experience with the various products will help you decide.
Some companies have offerings specifically designed for the small and mid-size business. Many of these products are touted to be easy to use, but they might not be right for you. If your software vendor won’t let you try out their software first, it’s time to find a new vendor.
Support is crucial. If your vendor makes support difficult to use, find a new vendor. Look for a company that offers a knowledge base, tutorials, forums and other user-to-user resources, as well as access to a real helpdesk.
Remember to identify the key capabilities you need. Here are some considerations. Remember, not all of these might apply to your needs, so picking the right capabilities will help you start to narrow your choices
- Easy to install
- Easy to use and to support
- Continuous data backups
- Disaster Recovery
- Backup locally, to the network, or to the cloud
- File-based or image-based backups
- Data deduplication
- Works on all of your devices (laptop, tablet, cell phone)
- Let’s you select what data you want backed up
- Reliable
Remember, backing up data is easy – there are lots of products that can back up your data. Restoring it reliably and securely is hard. Make sure you select a product that can restore your data correctly the first time safely and reliably. For additional information on backup and recovery, please visit www.genie9.com
Mirroring is not Backup
Feb 17th
Although backup and disk mirroring are often used interchangeably, a mirror is decidedly not a backup. Mirroring and backups serve different purposes. A mirror is designed to keep your system up and running in the case of a hard disk failure. While a backup essentially serves that purpose, it is designed to provide you with data protection should a file, folder or an entire disk drive fail.
Let’s say you have a system with two 500 GB drives configured in a RAID 1 mirror. Any data written to one drive is automatically duplicated to the other. This is great if you are concerned that you might be susceptible to a disk drive failure. Should your primary hard disk fail, all you need do is move the mirror into the primary drive’s position and keep going. But mirrors come with their own set of issues. Let’s say your antivirus or antimalware software allows an infection to get by. Now you have a problem on both your primary drive and the mirror. Mirrors let bad things happen much faster.
Now let us assume that you are backing up your primary drive with either a file- or image-based backup software and your primary drive gets a virus. You have options. If you have a file-based backup, you need only to clean the primary drive and then copy the cleaned files to your backup. This is the same technique you would use for backups to cloud-based backup environments.
If you back up using sector-based disk images backed up to local drive or network-attached storage device and your image becomes infected, simply mount your image as a virtual disk in read/write mode. Run your antivirus software against the mounted image and clean the virus. Once that’s done, save the image as an incremental backup and your image will be clean.
Some computers ship from the manufacturer with a preconfigured disk mirror. Don’t be mislead that you have a preconfigured backup; you don’t. There are a variety of RAID configurations that are designed to protect data, but each serves a different purpose. For RAID 1, the disk mirror, the purpose is protection from a failed hard disk.
Mozy Drops Unlimited Backup Plans, Users Look for Less Expensive Alternatives
Feb 3rd
Online backup company Mozy has officially announced that it is dropping its popular unlimited storage plan and raising its prices for all new users and existing customers. Mozy explains that the cost of online backups has increased and therefore they had to increase the prices for the users as well, so now existing users who have already uploaded a large amount of data that exceeds the new plans limits are going to have to pay the extra charges for the rest of their plan, so needless to say people are starting to look for Mozy alternatives.
While the prices of online backup services are increasing and it has become very expensive to afford a yearly plan of online backups, if you search BestBuy or Amazon.com for the prices of an external hard drive unit that has 1 TeraByte of space (that is 1000 GB’s) you will find that a cost of a drive from even the best brands costs a lot less for something that you will only have to purchase once and can use for many years to come. Backing up your computer’s data and lifetime of photos, music, office files, financial documents, internet bookmarks and your email has become a necessity. Although storage mediums are wide spread and can easily be obtained, finding reliable backup software that combines an easy to use interface with all the backup functionality and requirements might prove hard.
Genie Timeline 2.1 is a time machine backup software for Windows that automatically and continuously backs up music files, videos, photos, documents, files and folders on your machine with little or no user intervention. With Genie Timeline, there is no need to know what to backup, where or what backup strategy to follow as it does it all for you. Just set it and forget it!
Winner of the TOPTENReviews.com best continuous data protection on the market, the idea behind Timeline is to connect it to your external hard drive or NAS and leave it to do its job.
So a cheap and reliable alternative to Mozy and all online backup utilities can be brought down to two things, an external storage device and Timeline 2.1
Over Network Backups: Performance, Congestion and How To Deal
Jul 26th
This article discusses the affect of using a real-time continuous backup solution; Genie Timeline 2.1 over a network, by answering the following 3 questions:
- What is the bandwidth usage of multiple users backing up over a network and do you have any figures on the network performance of Timeline?
- I usually use my network for video streaming which takes up a lot of bandwidth, will backups be of a concern?
- How is Timeline designed to reduce impact on system performance?
To begin we should explain how transfers are done over a network. All network transfers take place through the CIFS protocol over TCP, which is subject to throttling and congestion avoidance at the network layer. Switches and routers have policies to prevent TCP applications from causing networking delays which will keep the Genie Timeline file transfers in check. The networking components of Genie Timeline should not adversely affect network performance.
This case is especially true for video and audio streaming/conferencing that are on two different dimensions. Video and audio conferencing network activity all take place over the UDP protocol, which is *not* subject to the same limitations; so Genie Timeline shouldn’t affect the quality of any audio/video sessions over the local LAN.
On the other side is the design and behavior of Timeline itself. Timeline defaults to (and usually runs in) “Smart Mode” which is a resource-friendly backup setting. It both throttles all costly operations (both in terms of CPU or I/O activity, such as access to local disks and LAN storage units), and runs in a reduced priority mode. In this mode, Genie Timeline runs almost invisibly in the background, and does not affect neither any running applications nor any network activity.
The actual numbers for network transfers vary depending on the data selected for transfer. It should be noted that certain file types are backed up using our own proprietary differential backup algorithm, Block Level. For these files, only the changed portions of the file are sent to the backup device, drastically minimizing the transfer amounts for large files such as multi-GB Outlook PST’s. Furthermore, the frequency of the backup can be controlled – while under all configurations Timeline remains a real-time backup solution, the actual writes can be coalesced to disk flexibly: anywhere from every 3 minutes to every several hours as needed, each with its own distinct bandwidth requirements.
Timeline for Gamers
May 24th
Are you a hardcore PC gamer?
You’re probably thinking about upgrading to the new i7 or spending days online shopping for a monster PC capable of running games at the highest quality with no glitches, crashes or errors?
Interruptions by applications such as anti-virus software or backup software while playing can be a real hassle and can affect computer performance leading to a bad gaming experience.
With the user always in mind, Timeline was designed to function in multiple performance modes; if you chose Timeline’s Smart Mode you will never have to worry about it using up your memory. As an added bonus, Timeline includes Game/Movie Mode which automatically pauses Timeline’s backup operations whenever it detects that a game is running in full screen mode. Once you are finished playing, Timeline will automatically get right back to backing up your files.
But the most important function remains the Disaster Recovery backup; 24 hour backups of your boot drive means that if your computer crashes and you cannot get it to boot again, you can restore your system back to a previously working state along with all of your games, configuration files and save files in no time, making Timeline the ultimate backup tool for every gamer.
How do you use Timeline
May 23rd
Timeline was created with the end user in mind. It is a backup tool that can easily work for anyone from an accountant, to a gamer, to a stay at home parent.
People use computers for many reasons; different schedules and ways in which computers are used result in custom backup schemes and plans. Whether you are a doctor or an architect, you backup all of your drives or create specific rules and backup certain extensions; we would like to hear from you.
In the comment section below please write to us about how you use Timeline to backup.
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