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Backing Better Backups

Members of the ISP-Tech list talk about how they have persuaded their less technically savvy bosses to invest in critical data backup technology. In a nutshell, it's all about public relations, and peace of mind.

[February 22, 2002]

On the ISP-Tech list in February, DW inquired,

"Do you have any tactics for relaying to your superiors how important it is to have tape backups, in order to get it approved? I've been trying to get myself a little tape library for our web servers as a precaution, and I keep running into walls with management."

JL advised going straight to the vendors for ideas:

"Go to any website operated by folks who sell tape backup software, and you'll probably find loads of studies and opinions as to why it's a good idea. Tell one of the vendors you need 'ammunition' to sell your boss on the idea of using their product, and they'll give you more reasons to do so than you can use. As an ISP, we do web server backups primarily as insurance against bad PR: while our AUP clearly states that we have no obligation to do anything to insure against the loss of data placed on our servers, we know how inconvenient it would be for them to try to restore it."

Others recommended considering removable hard drives instead of tape:

[RS asked] "What about backing up to removable hard drives? It seems to me that backing up to a tape that costs $35 to $60 is not that much more effective than $120 for a 60 GB drive, especially since it would probably take two or more tapes to equal 60 GB. Plus, the drive backup would be faster and more flexible."

[CT agreed] "For me, backing up with removable hard drives is perfect."

Still others suggested that tape is always the best way to go:

[BS warned] "Hard drives are by far the most expensive option in terms of media costs, not the least expensive. Someone will doubtless chime in with the cost of the tape drive, but that's a one-time cost. As time goes on, it will get lost in the noise, but you'll have to keep on buying new hard disks all the time."

[GS recalled] "We've had a vault service pick up our tapes every morning, returning what we request the day before, and available for $25 if we need them after hours. The only difference between now and ten years ago is that the tapes are tiny and hold more. Where we used to send out a pallet load of ½-inch tapes, now it's 4mm tapes in a pillbox. I can't imagine that your ordinary hard drive is going to like this kind of regular trip, even if it's in tracks for easy portability. We keep a set of 25 or 30 tapes for each site managed so that we've got a rolling month of tapes, allowing a couple of weeks for errors to pop up that might require a rollback. It's expensive relative to a small server's price today to get the tape setup, but the tapes last for years with this kind of use, and the peace of mind is priceless."

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