ICT Blog

Back-up not sure, but I'm thinking what needs backing up, when do we do them, how do we back up and where to?
For recovery I'd say how will users initiate a recovery, who will retrieve the recovered files and where will they be recovered to.

Information is everything is a business, Water Co have 5 workstations, a file server, 2 Laptops and PDA's and connecting to a LAN. All the files can be stored locally on the file server to keep all the files in one place this has many benefits its easier to find files and folders and also to backup files. The down side of this is its dangerous as if something goes wrong you stand to lose everything which many businesses never recover from. The main way to deal with possibility is using back-ups.

The file server will store all the data for the 5 workstations so it is important that this data is kept safe. The system will need to back up all the photos and documents belonging to the users also the scanned documents. They should do a full backup every week and differential backups through out the week to make sure nothing is lost if a system fails or a disk. The server should back up to a different location on a different server either stored on the LAN or over a WAN, the LAN example the disks should be taken off site to reduce the risk of hardware damage for whatever reason (don't keep all your eggs on one basket). The disks could also use a RAID array to keep a copy of the disk at all times to prevent the loss of data if a disk fails. The file server would be best to back up when no-one or few users are using the system so the early hours of the morning would be best. There would be copies of the system stored through out the week so the restoration of files would be easy if some deleted the file and they knew when it happened, also if all the systems were damaged in a fire you could still have the backups which were stored off site and the business could function as normal when restored. The disks could also be used as part of a disaster recovery system where the business sets up at a new location to continue work if all the system fails but without a complete server ghost at the location it would take time to set up so may not be necessary for a business this size.

Another part of the system is the e-mails which the users will receive, they are vital to contacting clients and other users. If one is lost or deleted, there needs to be copies so the can be easily restored. The mail needs be backed up in real time to a server at the business to make sure the e-mails can be recover if required. All e-mails should be backed up. The fact the server is stored in the business makes it easy to restore any e-mails that are deleted but the server is also vulnerable so it is important to take disks off site or store a ghost version of disk over a WAN.

The software can also be backed up. This is not as important as other parts of the business such as the file server but can save a lot of time if backed up as you can set-up new workstations or restore workstation with ease. The software could be done with a full backup to a server every month as software does not merely change as much as the files which are used daily by the users.

The laptops and PDA's are possibly going to be off site often so back-up is crucial. The file server should download all the offline changes to the server when the user connects to the system, these files will be included in the differential back-up but if the Laptops or PDAs are going to be off site for a long time it could be an idea to download the files to CD or USB pen drive to make sure if the computer is stolen or lost before a connection is made to the system they can be sure to have a copy of the files.

The Website needs to backed up also as this is very important to the survival of the business. The website will not be as large as the whole file system so it can be backed up daily with a full back up or maybe more often that daily, to make sure it is completely safe from data loss. The backups should be stored off site to make sure this vital part of the business is not lost.

Excellent Work - A. 
1.  In WIndows the system which automatically synchronises local files to network files is called "Off Line Files".  To back up data when off site the company would need some for of Remote Access system such as VPN or Remote Desktop to be able to copy files up to the server.
2.  What about back-up routines for discs of tapes?

There are a few things that he will need to back-up, this is because if he didn't back up then if the system were to crash then he will not have any of his files or software left.
             I am going to start with the fileserver; there are a few back-up strategies in which he could use but possibly the most effective is going to be; having two servers. One on site say in the ict room, and then one off site, in a Data Recovery centre. I.e. An off site building with spare servers with the data and software saved on it, so if the server on-site were to crash then you could use the server off site as if nothing ever happened.
              But they could also use a thing called RAID (redundant array of independent disks). This is a combination of more then one disk on a server. The data is saved onto the other disks as well, this is something called mirroring. Therefore you have two or more copies of that file/document. There is a possibility of getting 4 different hardisks and spread your data across it, but this would mean that the network would be slower because it would have to find the data.
            For his five workstations he could either have five external hard drives (excess memory to save to outside the computer) This would mean having to back up to it every day or week. He could though get a cable that would plug into the Ethernet port at the back of your computer, which you would link up to the fileserver. This would be good because then all your files/data that you save on that computer can now be found by the fileserver so when you do a full back up at the end of the day or the end of the week it will back up that data aswell.
         To minimalise data lose he could tell his staff/employees to save their work to memory stick (usb pens), this would save you the trouble of backing it up but in return it could cause security risks with a possible threat of people importing viruses into the system.
          I believe a good strategy for you to use when backing up is to do a full back up weekly (on the weekend) this is because everything that has been saved/changed during the week will be backed up, but also a goof idea would be to do an integrated back up which means it backs everything up at the beginning of the week and then it backs everything up every day of the week and hold that data. This would make it easy to find work that you may have lost. When i say everything i mean all your work/software and pictures.
          For his website it maybe a good idea to back up in real time (online). This is because it will save it as it happens, this is good because then you don't lose any customer comments or address's that they may leave on the site.

Good work: C
Guy remember the rules of back-up strategies:
What? What needs backing up eg Sever data, e-mail data, laptop data, software ... which is most important?
When? Weekly, Daily, real-time,
How? Full back-up, Differetial, Incremental, Copy...
Where? Disc to Disc, Disc to Tape, Disc to Disc to Tape
Methods? Disc routine, compressed, encrypted ...

Waters and Co Back-up and Recovery strategy

A background system is necessary for waters and co due to the fact that they are holding a lot of customer information, digital photos, emails, internet options, editing software and website designs. This will all need to be backed up in case all or part of the information is deleted, corrupted, edited incorrectly or destroyed.

First he will need to back up his Digital Photos; there will be a lot of these taking up a large amount of storage space. In order for this to be backed up it will need to be saved to another storage area. There are many different ways in which this can be done, the most effective, but also expensive way would be to have two network servers in different locations where the files are centrally stored, by having them in different locations, it means that if one is damaged or broken then the information will still be saved and available for access from somewhere else. Another way in which the photos can be backed up is to save them all to an external memory source so that if the main hard drive crashes then they will all be stored on a second memory so that they are not lost. A third backup alternative is how you have your memory arranged, in raid it will mean that information is mirrored or striped onto a number of combinations of different memories so if one hard disk fails then the photos will still be accessible for the user.

He will also need to backup his emails, as the often contain files that aren’t saved to the computer, in order to do that all emails that come in will have to be stored onto the network server or common folder as well so that if a certain email is needed but has been deleted from the inbox folder then it can be accesses through this folder. Also his software needs to be backed up in case the computer fails and the hard drive is broken. In order to backup this software it can be copied onto a CD so that it can be reloaded again, also simpler way is to just keep the original disks and use them as backups in case the software is deleted.

 

Customer Information will also have to be backed up as if this is lost then the company will not be able to contact customers with house details and offer information. In order to do this the information could be backed up in a similar way in which the photos are backed up. Using either a network server to save the information onto or an external hard drive and to mirrored or striped hard drives so that if something fails within the system the information can be recovered and used.

Also website designs and internet options can be saved in this way as it would be time consuming to have to set the internet options and recreate a website with all the information on, so by having it backed up this will save time.

Good work: B/C
Andrew look at these points:
"Memory" means "RAM" in ICT. You have used this incorrectly in this context when talking about HDDs you need to use the phrase "storage".
Look at this guidance:
What? What needs backing up eg Sever data, e-mail data, laptop data, software ... which is most important?
When? Weekly, Daily, real-time,
How? Full back-up, Differetial, Incremental, Copy...
Where? Disc to Disc, Disc to Tape, Disc to Disc to Tape
Methods? Disc routine, compressed, encrypted ...