Backup Software - Backup devices

Author

Backup devices

John Aldrich

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

I have recently been hired by my employer and have been tasked with
creating a backup strategy. We have a server that currently has less
than 80 Gigs of drive space on it, and less than half of that is
"used." To that end, I've been reviewing possible backup devices and
saw something new (to me, at least) is available. It's called a REV
Drive. I'm wondering if anyone on this list can tell me something about
it? Is this just an updated form of the ZIP and JAZ drives, or is this
something new? From what I can see, it appears to be an updated version
of the proprietary JAZ and ZiP drives. Can someone comment on the
reliability of the device?

Can someone on the list suggest something, preferably external and
non-SCSI, which would accomodate our backup needs and be able to grow
with the organization? We currently only have the one Windows 2003 SBS
Server, and only about 70 Gigs of total drive space, but I anticipate
that at least the drive space will grow in the future.

I'm looking for something that can be taken off-site, so removable
media is a requirement, otherwise I'd just invest in an NAS box.
Thanks

(PeteCresswell)

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

Per John Aldrich:
>it appears to be an updated version
>of the proprietary JAZ and ZiP drives. Can someone comment on the
>reliability of the device?

Zip and JAZ drives had a bad rep for at least a few years.

Google "Click Of Death".

I had JAZ drives for awhile, but trashed them because they proved unreliable.
--
PeteCresswell

John Aldrich

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
> Per John Aldrich:
>
> Zip and JAZ drives had a bad rep for at least a few years.
>
> Google "Click Of Death".
>
> I had JAZ drives for awhile, but trashed them because they proved unreliable.
>
Yeah. I'd heard bad things. I think I still have a Jaz drive somewhere
that I bought off eBay. Never actually got around to using it. I'm just
wondering if anyone here has actually used one of those new drives and
if they're any good. I am afraid after what I've heard about the Zip
and JAZ drives that they are junk.

beenthere

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

"John Aldrich" <maxxexcaliber@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1158158007.953372.121780@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
>
> (PeteCresswell) wrote:
> Yeah. I'd heard bad things. I think I still have a Jaz drive somewhere
> that I bought off eBay. Never actually got around to using it. I'm just
> wondering if anyone here has actually used one of those new drives and
> if they're any good. I am afraid after what I've heard about the Zip
> and JAZ drives that they are junk.
>
Why don`t you use USB external hard drives ?.

John Aldrich

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

beenthere wrote:
> Why don`t you use USB external hard drives ?.
>
Good question. The answer is that I've had a lot of anecdotal evidence
that these are not reliable. I might be willing to use them as *part*
of the backup plan, but there's also the cost of multiple USB/Firewire
drives, especially if I want to take them off-site and LEAVE them
off-site for any length of time.

Not to mention, that there's always the possibility that someone could
accidentally wipe the drive if they didn't know what it was, or if they
are a disgruntled employee, they could *intentionally* wipe it and put
us in a world of hurt!

I'd prefer a solution that wouldn't be so easy to use.I'm thinking of a
"clunker" PC with a tape drive and/or removable hard drive used as a
"staging" point for copying the data off of the server overnight and
then archiving it and taking it off-site.

(PeteCresswell)

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

Per John Aldrich:
>Good question. The answer is that I've had a lot of anecdotal evidence
>that these are not reliable. I might be willing to use them as *part*
>of the backup plan, but there's also the cost of multiple USB/Firewire
>drives, especially if I want to take them off-site and LEAVE them
>off-site for any length of time.
>
>Not to mention, that there's always the possibility that someone could
>accidentally wipe the drive if they didn't know what it was, or if they
>are a disgruntled employee, they could *intentionally* wipe it and put
>us in a world of hurt!
>
>I'd prefer a solution that wouldn't be so easy to use.I'm thinking of a
>"clunker" PC with a tape drive and/or removable hard drive used as a
>"staging" point for copying the data off of the server overnight and
>then archiving it and taking it off-site.

I've been using two of Kangoru's transportable drives for a few years to back up
my home office data and haven't had any problems except for Windows' generic
problems with USB drives.

Their claim to fame is that the drive is supposed TB more shock-resistant than
the average drive. I just put them in my bag/briefcase and take them to a
client site for offsite storage - alternating them with each backup (bring the
latest to the client site, take the one that's there home for the next backup)
http://www.kanguru.com/kdisk.html

OTOH, they're not cheap... and if the cost of an IDE drive in a USB2 wrapper is
of concern they're probably not an option.

I don't fully understand the "more shock-resistant" claim - I'm taking it on
faith. My suspicion is that a plain old IDE drive in a wrapper would survive
the kind of transport I'd subject it to just fine.
--
PeteCresswell

David Arnstein

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

In article <ldfgg2d4nuh5qtbob34756lppgr6kqp37u@4ax.com>,
(PeteCresswell) <x@y.Invalid> wrote:
>I've been using two of Kangoru's transportable drives for a few years to back up
>my home office data and haven't had any problems except for Windows' generic
>problems with USB drives.
>
>Their claim to fame is that the drive is supposed TB more shock-resistant than
>the average drive. I just put them in my bag/briefcase and take them to a
>client site for offsite storage - alternating them with each backup (bring the
>latest to the client site, take the one that's there home for the next backup)
>http://www.kanguru.com/kdisk.html

I am planning to use Kanguru drives soon. This is the only product of
its kind that ships with a protective carrying case. I suspect that
the carrying case provides as much protection as the supposed shock
resistance engineered into the drive itself.

Are there any other USB drives for which a fitted carrying case is
available?
--
David Arnstein
arnstein+usenet@pobox.com

Greg Miller

2006-09-16, 1:17 pm

Have you considered an automated offsite backup? I offer a service
called MIllerNET Protect and it scans the area you specify to be backed
up, encrypts your info and send it securely to a server at a tier 1
data center in Dallas. The system is smart and only sends the info that
has changed, so you can easily manage an 80GB backup over the internet.

Keeping you data at a remote data center also protects against theft,
fires, floods, disgruntled employees, and other local threats.

We offer free accounts that are setup with 5GB for the first 30 days,
then revert to 200mb. have a look at http://millernetprotect.com for
more info.

Greg Miller.