As you can imagine, an agency such as ours generates huge amounts of data which is stored on a central fileserver. Documents, artwork, images… all of these files are vital to our business and to our clients. But could we afford to lose any of this data?

Simply put, no. Hard disk failure, fire or theft could wipe out many irreplaceable files as well as requiring many hours of studio time to re-create lost artwork.

Our first line of defence in this respect is that our fileserver uses a RAID system to protect against hard disk failure. This uses an array of separate disks where the data is spread across all disks in such a way that, should one fail, a new one can be installed without loss of data.

If you are a DNA client, you will be relieved to know that all data on our fileserver is backed up on a daily basis. Our current solution is a tape library which uses two sets of tapes, one of which is taken off-site overnight. There have been many times when this system has come to our rescue, particularly when a file has become corrupted or overwritten by mistake. The presence and effectiveness of the backup system at DNA is considered to be as vital as the computers on which the work is generated.

Whatever the size of your business, a backup system is vital. As a bare minimum, both current Windows and Macintosh operating systems (Vista and Leopard) provide a means of backing up data out of the box. It only takes a few moments to set up a schedule that backs up your vital data to external media, whether that’s a USB memory stick or a large external hard disk.

Other solutions, depending on the amount of data you need to store, include CD/DVDs, portable hard disks and tape libraries. Dedicated software from, among others, Symantec (Norton Backup Exec) and EMC Insignia (Retrospect) provide robust and feature-rich solutions for most scenarios.

Perhaps the safest solution is off-site storage, where your data is transmitted securely overnight to a dedicated remote backup server. As long as your broadband connection speed is reasonable and the size or quantity of new/modified files is not too great, this provides arguably the most reliable backup solution for your company. Start by talking to your Internet Service Provider, although there are others out there who specialise in this kind of service. Always check out their credentials or take expert advice before signing up. You don’t want the whole world and his wife snooping at your sensitive files as they’re transmitted!

(Opinion by: John Dawkins – IT Manager)