Land Surveyor Blogs

Gerr I lost my data.. Be it a picture, a survey job, a letter or some other item you took a few minutes to a few hours, days creating. Here is a example. I had this whole article typed and in this box and hit submit and the page failed to load. It got lost in the digital wasteland that is wifi to my router and on to the internet to the sever that is LSU. where did it go?? I dont know but if I typed it local and hit save then copied and pasted it I would have a backup. Thats where we start... AGAIN..

Well for those who dont know me yet.. My Name is Daniel Beltz. Want to know more? Feel free to visit my profile and or contact me directly. I am happy to talk to you and give you any help I can.

Why backup?

Superheroes need it, police rely on it and everyone that uses a computer should use some form of it. In the world of mainframes and microchips it's called data backup or data recovery and it can mean the difference between a slight computer setback and living through your own electronic apocalypse.

Let's face it; our computers are a bigger part of life than ever before. We shop, work and play using computers. They've replaced stereos, encyclopedias, even the mailman. They've become journals, photo albums and canvases for our art.

But computers aren't perfect. Files become corrupt, motherboards malfunction, CPUs call it quits taking our precious data with them.

The best defense is data backup software. Backing up data is vital for businesses; lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure. Individuals who don't backup computer data run the same risk. While this may not cause financial ruin, it can certainly be frustrating and even heartbreaking. So why do so few of us practice data backup?

Here are the common excuses:
"I'm too busy to backup my computer." We are busy, work, family and friends fill our days and leave us little time for boring things like computer maintenance. But today's backup software manufacturers make it easy. Through scheduled backups, your system can automatically perform a backup that fits your needs at an interval you choose—without interrupting life.

"I don't know how to backup data." Like preparing for a natural disaster, most of us understand how important data backup is, but don't know where to start. A big step is deciding how you are going to store the data you backup.

One option is Removable Backup Media, but this only narrows the field a little. You could buy a million 3.5" discs or perhaps invest in a larger-capacity external Zip drive. You could take the plunge into writeable CDs or stretch out your legs with the help of an external hard drive and Network Attached Storage or a full file server.

Another good data backup option is to backup to an FTP location, which allows you to backup a file, a folder or your entire hard drive to a separate location online.

"My computer won't crash." You've had your computer this long and haven't had problems so far why worry about computer backup now? Think about it you wear your seat belt even though you don't expect your car to crash everyday. Data backup is about protecting your data's future, but with computers, it isn't if you crash, it's when you crash.

In today's high-tech world of sneaky spyware and venomous viruses, you are in more danger of data loss than ever before. Computer viruses grew by as much as 20% during 2010 alone costing business $55 Billion yes with a B.

Like tires on your car, the electronic circuits your computer rides on will eventually wear down and blow out. When this happens, you can either grieve at your loss or simply restore your data with data backup software.

So with that said, how does one choose the right backup software and hardware? There are many varieties available—some suited to a growing business and others for well established. Some backup software is for technical experts, other packages for the technically challenged. To help you choose, I am here. I am not going to go into the large scale systems. For those I figure you already have a full time IT guy. I am trying to help the places that have 1 to 10 employee's. Will this help the larger companies YES. But you also have a unique set of challenges and that is between you and your IT guy. But here are some tools to help you be lets say smarter about the conversation. If you don't have a full time IT guy you have me. 

There are many types of backup. 

Optical which includes CD-R, DVD-R, DVD-DL, BD-R, BD-DL

Flash Based which includes Pen/Thumb/Key chain USB drives, Compact Flash, SD Card, and Solid State Disk Drive (SSD)

Hard Drive which includes RAID, Network Attached Storage (NAS), or a full file server.

Online this can include offsite (Home office or second office location) FTP/Mapped Drive or an online software vendor you pay for off site storage.

Lets start with the Pros and Cons of each. 

So where do we go from here? We know the Pros and Cons? Well it comes down to a couple questions.

1.) What can I afford to lose?

For most the answer is nothing. 

2.) How much storage do I need to backup up what I dont want to lose?

I highly recommend a NAS device even if you don't have a full network. They are inexpensive and very reliable. You can have a bare NAS enclosure for around $200.

3.) What features do I need and want in the future?

Will you have off site workers? Do you want to give employees their own private folders and shared folders? Do you want 3TB of storage or 15TB of storage? 

4.) What units have the most of those features in a price range I can afford.

Can I afford $1000 or only $350? For a good unit for 1 to 5 users you will be around the $400 dollar mark with hard drives. It doesn't take much to move up from there. But you can have a top of the line 3 to 10 user unit in the 750 to 900 dollar range and well the prices go up from there. 

You may ask why I have not covered a ull file server here. Its because a NAS device is a File server but with a web based admin tool. They can do almost all the things of any other machine at the fraction of the cost. But after 10 Users there are benefits in other areas such as hosting your own web server, email and other things that your IT dept can discuss with you when you are ready to take that step. 

If you are interested in drives or network attached storage and other backup devices. please feel free to contact me as I can help you choose the unit that is right for your business.

Well I may come back and edit when I get back up but its 3am and I just re typed this all and want to get it published. Hope it helps some people.