Acronis True Image? Syncback SE? Cobian backup?

[568overclocked]

We have a startup business where sensitive data backup is critical. So far, I have been manually zipping all the data files and burning to CDR and copying the zip file to another computer on the network. I'm looking for alternatives now that would help in the process. The data we have to backup is currently about 400mb. But each day, we add to the growing database file and to the word/excel documents folder. Storage of the these files are primarily in 3 folders. I'm planning on purchasing this week a 500gb external HD and also a DVD recorder. I was planning on doing daily, weekly and monthly backups on the external HD and another computer on the network Then using DVD recordables at set intervals. Does this setup sound like a good start? What program would best keep our database and documents on a backup. We currently have 2 desktops and 1 laptop in the office but only 1 desktop holds all the key data. Any suggestions?

 

[568overclocked]

So i looked at the setup again. And from what I can see our word/excel documents folder is not updated everyday. So I was thinking of doing daily backups of just the databases and weekly backups of the databases and documents folder to the external HD and also to the other computer on the network. Then use CD/DVD recordables probably biweekly to take off site. Sound good? Is there a program that can do all this with little intervention by me

 

[568overclocked]

suggestions?

 

[mithrandir2001]

I can't give you much more than anecdotal comments but Acronis True Image is a very nice package, professional and clean UI, good capabilities and appears to have many happy users. I used it to clone a disk (re-sizing partitions along the way) and the process was smooth and all data remained intact.

 

[568overclocked]

up .....

 

[lobbyone]

Acronis :thumbsup: used it for years, never failed me once

 

[boomerang]

After screwing around with various backup methods for years at my wife's office, I finally switched her over to online backup. Best thing I ever did.

I absolutely could not get them to consistently swap tapes, pull removeable HD's, and later, swap DVD's. I tried various pieces of software, including my favorite Acronis (which I could not get to consistently write to DVD's).

She has far less data than you do however. But, with incremental backups, it will be a one time lengthy upload for you and much smaller ones afterwards.

Edit: Linkee for you.

 

[hectorsm]

I would use Acronis also. Even if the DVD writing feature is a little flaky with certain brands of DVD writer. It's cheap and has all the features you need except network backup. You might need the enterprise version for the network backups( I am not sure about this one). Check their web site before buying:

http://www.acronis.com/

Good price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832200003

 

[568overclocked]

so i got the external hd and dvd recorder. still doing manual backups but here is what i'm trying to get accomplished

DAILY BASIS : Monday - Friday after 5:30pm
- backup database only to external hd and network computer - create directory based on date and copy files to the diretory
ex. 030107 directory, 030207 directory, etc.

REASONING: in case of mistake on the database, they can go back to a specific date and start from there



WEEKLY : friday after 5:30pm
- sync database and documents to external hd and network computer

REASONING: to have an exact duplicate of the work done for the week

- burn mon-fri databases and documents to cd/dvd for off site backup

REASONING: move data off site for protection

- incremental backup of computer to external hd

REASONING: just in case of computer crash, can be up and running in minutes



MONTHLY : last business day of the month after 5:30pm
- refresh image on external hd

REASONING: to keep image current and not have several incremental backup files


can any software do pretty much all this automatically. I'm more specifically looking for software that can run the daily routine as I don't want to be at the office every day just to do the daily backup as described. Please help. Any ideas on software or better backup plan

 

[amdskip]

I know Cobian works well for automatic backups of files/folders so maybe you would want to use a combination of software packages.

 

[hectorsm]

TI is not a file based backup solution. TI was design to be an image based solution for complete system recovery. Even though you can restore individual files from images is not as intended as such. You have to mount the images to be able to browse through the files and restore them. It will be a hasle if you do frequent file restores.

I am not aware of any product that will do both, image and file base backups. You may need to buy two different products like amdskip suggested if you want to have both types of backups.

As far as automation and scheduling, TI should meet your need.

 

[568overclocked]

thanks for the input. From the research i've been doing about the products, it seems like syncback se would be good for making sure i have synchronize files between computers and external hd. And then use True Image for creating images for restoration. I guess what I need to find out is if Syncback SE would be able to do the daily backup the way I would like.

As far as my backup procedures, does it sound like a decent plan? Thanks

 

[568overclocked]

up

 

[Slowlearner]

OP you are doing the right things. I would suggest a dedicated backup pc, and the programs I would highly recommend are Karen's Replicator (http://www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp) or Cobian Backup - you can set them to do full or incremental backups at frequent intervals (for instance I do incremental back up of my erp software every hour). Note that these are folder replicators, in that they copy all files in a folder rather a full fledged backup software - so some planning is needed to set up how your folders are organized. While backup software such as Dantz Retrospect etc are very good, they are quite expensive, and in case of hd failure, its often quite problematic to restore from backed up data as they require a working pc with the exact same software already installed, and they also have problems with files open during the backup process.

Its is therefore good to have two hds in critical pcs, with the OS and app software in the primary drive and data in the secondary hd. You can clone the primary hds using Acronis TI when you add new hardware or install applications, i.e. infrequently; store the clones in a anti-static bags, label them etc. In case of primary hd failure these would be used to restore, and in case of secondary hd failure the data would come from back up pc or dvds. Once a month, burn dvds of the backup folders for off-site storage, more frequently if you need to.

 

[568overclocked]

i do like the idea of the two hard drives (one for apps, the other for data) and i would like to implement this (i do it at home), however, people in the office that use the computers will end up saving on the app drive instead at some point. i ran into this problem many times before where i would tell the user to use the data drive for saving files and then when i go look, files are all over the place on the app drive.

 

[Dunbar]

I use Syncback SE on my home machine to an external USB HD, run it at 3am every day and it works great. Only problem I've run into is if I leave Outlook open the "sync" fails because the my e-mail file (.pst) is still open. My computer just died and I'm building a new one, Syncback is saving me a lot of hassle.

I also use True Image and I have a basline image shortly after I installed Windows. Another one (no more than) 6 months old and than an incremental image I update every week. That also gets "sync'd" to an external HD. So if your Windows partition gets hosed, and you image that, you can still roll back to a few months ago. With cheap, huge HD's it's easy to justify so many relatively large image files.