[dsn_klr650] computer back-up. nklr kinda long

[Mark]

At 11:22 AM -0400 7/16/2000, Shepard,Brian wrote:

>Right on. Or an even less expensive than that is Iomega's Zip or Jaz drives; >the most practical solution IMHO. Use the writable CDROM drive to make >copies of your expensive software CDROMs and use the copies and store the >originals, also great for digital camera pics. See www.iomega.com for a more >practical & less expensive backup system.

I think Zip is pretty useless size-wise and has low reliability. I've seen many Zip disks fail, and I've had one Jaz 2 disk fail. I've has 100% reliability with CD-R so far. However, in the past, I used 230Mb and 640Mb magneto optical disks and I liked them better (as fast as a hard drive), but MO disks are expensive. CD's are great at a buck a piece. I got the following of a Mac user website, but I'm sure there's universality here: Backup and Archiving Computers fail. There is no way to avoid it. When your computer fails, will you be prepared? This is a question every business owner should ask themselves. Running your company without a reliable backup system is a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, there are several options available to fit your needs and budget. A brief description of the various types of backup and archival systems follows. RAID A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) system is not really a backup. But by mirroring two or more drives, you have a level of reliability not available with a single hard drive. When one drive fails, the mirrored drive will continue, with minimum downtime. Tape Tape drives have been around forever, and offer the highest capacity available of all backup methods. Capacities of 30GB or more on a single tape are common. Tape has been proven as a reliable means of backup, but it does have its drawbacks, mainly speed. While drives have become considerably faster over the years, tape backup is still the slowest method. CD-R and CD-RW Convenience is the best word to describe backup to a CD-Recordable disk. While a 650MB capacity is minuscule by today's standards, the write-once, read anywhere nature of a CD makes it great for restoring a Mac to its original configuration, or for archiving old documents. As for CD-RW, I do not recommend using it as a means for backup of data that you consider important. Also, note that not all CD-R media are created equal. MacInTouch has an interesting report on CD-R media failures. It is definitely worth reading. DVD-RAM With a capacity much greater than that of a CD-R disk, DVD-RAM offers good speed with decent capacity. As a relatively new technology however, I would not recommend it for vital company data. Removable Drives Removable drives come in many forms, most notably the Iomega Zip drive. With a paltry 100 to 250 megabytes per disk, these drives offer relatively cheap storage for your data. I would only recommend a Zip or Jaz drive for transporting data, not for vital data storage. The media is not reliable enough for serious backup or archiving. Castlewood has introduced the ORB drive, which promises to be a more reliable solution due to its hard-drive like design. It offers a cartridge capacity of 2.2GB, and cartridges are quite inexpensive. Before making any final decision, it is important to consider current and future needs. If you have over 100GB of data to backup, then tape will be your only option, where autoloaders for multiple tapes are readily available. Smaller shops may opt for a combination of Tape for backup and CD-R for archiving. Whatever your needs, a well-planned backup strategy will offer you reassurance that your data is safe. Mark B2 A2