[BCMA] online backup

Thu Feb 25 21:02:04 PST 2010

Hi Kimiko;

I remember seeing this in a CNet.com forum; hope it help.

I have tried various kinds of online backup services for a number of  
years. Intuit, Symantec, and AOL once upon a time, have all offered  
free online services (with size limits). Now, almost every online  
backup service has some sort of free deal ranging from 3 to 5 GB of  
free storage. And then you have the option of extending the storage  
for a fee.

But before you jump into any of this, know what you are looking for.  
Most people, when they mention online storage, are thinking of  
"archival storage"; but most services offer "synchronized storage".

What's the difference? The difference is immense.

Archival storage is like having a digital safety deposit box. You put  
in whatever is valuable and it will stay there until you need it. All  
those photographs and music files and half-finished video productions  
and tax records and correspondence with relatives -- all of that can  
finally be removed from your computer where they create search- 
intrusive clutter and be available in some online attic somewhere if  
you actually want to find something. That is wonderful. It's also  
expensive and hard to find. We are talking a lot of space and an  
indefinite time period. Someone out there is going to have to lock up  
a fair amount of server space and be responsible for his own security  
back-ups so there is no chance of you losing what is irreplaceable.

"Synchronized Storage" is a whole different thing. You pick a  
computer (sometimes more than one) and the online service will back  
up everything you choose to on their server ... as long as you keep  
it on your own computer. If you delete a backed-up item from your  
computer, it will be deleted from the backup service. There is  
actually a deliberate protective delay to protect you from accidental  
deletions -- if you discover this in time; the delay appears to be  
about 30 days.

Who would want synchronized storage? People like my wife, who is an  
online editor, and cannot afford to lose current projects or data.  
Anything important to be current on her computer needs to be backed  
up in case that computer is infected with malware, broken, or stolen.  
We don't backup the system -- that is better done by backing up to  
portable harddrive and/or DVD's on which we keep both the current  
image of a working system and the original factory state image of the  
computer. This is not as useful as it seems because most events (with  
the exception of most malware infections) mean the computer is gone.  
Buying a new computer means your drive image is pretty pointless. But  
active data files (correspondence, financial records, current  
projects, address books, calendars, etc) are pricless; and need to be  
restored as soon as the (new) system is up and running.

Personally, I believe you should use a combination of online storage,  
disk/drive storage, and an actual safe-deposit box. If it's going to  
be important forever (baby movies, for example), copy it to long- 
lasting reliable media (I prefer the new cheap portable hard-drives)  
and make multiple copies. Every so often you can recopy everything  
and merge it anything new in the same category; and swap out hard- 
drives. You keep these off-site in the safety deposit box so if your  
house burns down or your computer is stolen, these items won't be lost.

Whatever is in the I-need-it-when-I-need-it category should be kept  
on your computer or in a dedicated onsite backup external drive; but  
should also be backed-up in some form of digital backup services. You  
will need to check how easy it is to access what you need, especially  
if you need to get it from another computer. Some services allow you  
access from anywhere; some only work best when you access it from the  
machine it is synchronized with. Mozy, for example, will charge you a  
large free for overnighting a disk of your data back to you -- worth  
it if you need the data for that presentation the following morning,  
but still a pain when you only need about 200 MB of files.

So, although, you will get hundreds of suggestions about good  
services (including new services utilizing "the cloud") and which is  
better, you need to have clear in your own mind what it is you  
need ... before you commit to anything.

Chris
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Chris Au MGDC
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Didax Design
Burnaby, BC, Canada V5G 3R7
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T: 604 438 8180
C: 604 961 3472
F: 604 438 8180
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C R E A T I V E   S O L U T I O N S   B Y   D E S I G N

On Feb 23, 2010, at 12:05 PM, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv. wrote:

> We are researching companies for online backup. Our current in- 
> house back up procedures would require an off-site repository or a  
> fire-proof safe and the convenience of online backup seems like a  
> no-brainer. Does anyone have any recommendations on a company based  
> on their experience? How are other small museums backing up and  
> securing their data?
>
> Kimiko Hawkes
> Sunshine Coast Museum
> tel/fax: 604-886-8232
> scma_manager at dccnet.com
> www.sunshinecoastmuseum.ca
> _______________________________________________
> BCMA mailing list
> BCMA at lists.vvv.com
> http://lists.vvv.com/mailman/listinfo/bcma

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