Rotate more than one drive. Take the most recent drive off-site. Make it a *daily* procedure/task for the user. Often times with unprofessional people; anything less than daily will be neglected.
-- Espi On Mon, Sep 1, 2014 at 1:28 PM, Aakash Shah <[email protected]> wrote: > The problem I've had with saving to an external hard drive is the user > losing the drive, or the drive dying. In our case, we switched to using > FreeFileSync to sync the files to the file server over VPN. I set up a > script to warn the user if they haven't backed up in over 15 days to help > remind/warn them. Since the changes are deltas only, it doesn't take too > long to complete the sync once the primary sync is complete (the initial > backup is almost always done on site). > > > > Since you indicated that the laptops are rarely in the office, I would > imagine that the external hard drive being lost/dying and not having any > other backup is more likely. > > > > This doesn't take into the account the full system backup, but as someone > else mentioned, you can also reimage the computer from a template, and then > lay back on the user's files. > > > > While we haven't done this yet (it's on my To Do list), this may also be a > good situation to set up DirectAccess to prevent the need for the user to > use a VPN in case your users are not likely/comfortable connecting to a VPN. > > > > -Aakash Shah > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Hank Arnold > *Sent:* Monday, September 1, 2014 7:10 AM > > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud > > > > With the laptops, I like the idea of an external hard drive. It shouldn't > be that hard to automate prompting them to attach the hard drive and create > the image with the built-in capability. You could do the same with a > program like Karen's Replicator or Microsoft SyncToy. > > > > *Regards,* > Hank Arnold > [image: MVP Logo_Small] > > *Consumer Security* > > > > *"There are 10 kinds of people in the world...* > > *Those who understand binary and those who don't."* > > > > My Blog: *http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/* > <http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/> > > Twitter: @Hank_PCDoc > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hank.arnold.96 > > > > *From:* [email protected] [ > mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>] *On > Behalf Of *Art DeKneef > *Sent:* Sunday, August 31, 2014 10:50 PM > > *To:* [email protected] > *Subject:* RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud > > > > I gave him some cost numbers and backup time involved plus the pitfalls > for doing this and he saw it wasn't a good idea for all the computers. He's > still worried about the field laptops. > > > > So we discussed different options, everyone gets an external hard drive, > small server for backing up the office computers and the laptops when in > the office (rarely), create an image of the laptops and backup/save company > files to the cloud or combination of ideas. So he's thinking over the ideas > and we'll touch base on Wednesday. > > > > Michael, thanks for the charts. They will bolster my basic calculations in > regards to the time involved. > > > > Art DeKneef > > Avanti Computers > > Mesa, AZ > > 480-649-4430 Office > > 480-529-4430 Mobile > > > > *From:* [email protected] [ > mailto:[email protected] <[email protected]>] *On > Behalf Of *Micheal Espinola Jr > > *Sent:* Sunday, August 31, 2014 4:45 PM > *To:* ntsysadm > *Subject:* Re: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud > > > > ? 100 megabits is 12.5 megabytes. > > > > If you really meant 100 megabits, that would theoretically transfer 40 > gigabytes in 55 min. Breaking that out in realistic (R) statistics with > overhead (I typically average-in 13%), you're looking at 63 min, and 78 min > if you factor in an addition 20% throttle due to simultaneous practical (P) > network usage. > > > > Comparison chart: > > > > [image: Image removed by sender.] > > > > Red Speed - perf. decrease > Yellow Speed - 0-400% increase > Green Speed - 400%+ increase > > > > > > If you really meant 1.5 megabits (T-1ish speed), that would theoretically > transfer 40 gigabytes in 3641 min (2 days, 12 hrs, 40 min). Breaking that > out in realistic (R) statistics with overhead (I typically average-in 13%), > you're looking at 4185 min (2 days, 21 hrs, 44 min), and 5231 min (3 days, > 15 hrs, 11 min) if you factor in an addition 20% throttle due to > simultaneous practical (P) network usage. > > > > Comparison chart: > > > > [image: Image removed by sender.] > > > > Red Time - 12+ hours > Yellow Time - 6-12 hours > Green Time - 0-6 hours > > > > To get a 40 gigabyte backup under a 12 hr window, you would need to > effectively transfer at 11+ megabits per second end-to-end. These factors > and these charts are a part of how I generalize backup requirements for > clients. YMMV. > > > > > > > -- > Espi > > > > > > On Sun, Aug 31, 2014 at 7:04 AM, Hank Arnold <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Do the math. Even if you have a 100Mbps line (with, maybe 40-50 Mbyes > upload > speed), you will be trying to send 20-40 (or more) GBytes of data. You'll > be > spending hours if not days uploading. > > It's a bad idea. Create an image on removable media (label it "The Cloud") > and store it off site. > > Regards, > Hank Arnold > > Consumer Security > > "There are 10 kinds of people in the world... > Those who understand binary and those who don't." > > My Blog: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/ > Twitter: @Hank_PCDoc > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hank.arnold.96 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] > On Behalf Of Art DeKneef > > Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:01 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud > > I told him. He seems to think this is a good idea. The Internet connection > has (does occasionally) have issues that they installed a second line from > a > different provider for just that reason. In a rural area here in Arizona. > > Art DeKneef > Avanti Computers > Mesa, AZ > 480-649-4430 Office > 480-529-4430 Mobile > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] > > On Behalf Of Susan Bradley > Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 1:08 PM > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud > > Does he have any idea how long a full backup to a cloud backup provider > takes? I'll bet he doesn't have fiber and has various speeds of > connectivity. It takes me weeks to dribble up a large backup. > > On 8/28/2014 12:57 PM, Art DeKneef wrote: > > > > Have a new client that wants to backup 15 computers, possibly to the > > cloud. The cloud seems to be his preference right now. 7 computers are > > in an office with the other 8 being laptops that rarely come into the > > office. There is no server (Yeah I know), mix of Windows 7 Home and > > Pro, Windows 8 and Pro, varying skill levels. They buy whatever fits > > their fancy and price when something breaks. Hopefully I can get them > > to see the value of consistency of hardware. > > > > He wants to backup the whole computer, not just the business stuff. I > > mentioned a small server or NAS device for the office but that still > > leaves the laptops. They use a couple of 1TB USB drives in the office > > now but there have been a few instances where they haven't worked > > correctly between the different computers. > > > > I'm currently looking at Carbonite, Mozy, Crashplan and Copy but they > > all seem to just want to backup files and folders, not the whole drive > > based on my first glance. > > > > Anyone have any experience backing up remote computers they would like > > to share while I research some more? > > > > Thanks > > > > Art DeKneef > > > > Avanti Computers > > > > Mesa, AZ > > > > 480-649-4430 Office > > > > 480-529-4430 Mobile > > > > > > > >
