To Get Users To Backup Regularly, Keep It Simple.

Mobile users are key to regular data backup

For many, backup is a necessary evil, but for most organizations, selecting a method and medium is only the beginning of the madness. According to a recent IDC report, the majority of today's large organizations have data backup procedures and network infrastructures and approximately two-thirds of networked PCs are backed up daily. The remaining one-third rely on less frequent, but regular, backup routines. The problem is, with the number of mobile users exceeding 40 percent, an average of 32 percent of an organization's employees are not connected to the network and therefore, do not receive a regular data backup. As a result, even a well-planned network infrastructure can leave IT managers sleepless with questions:

How do we protect data between network backups?

How do we protect our remote and mobile user's data whose laptops aren't on the network for scheduled backups?

How do we make backup easy and simple enough that our people will actually use it?

Why does restoring data have, to be so difficult and take so long?

Mirror, Mirror...

A number of today's organizations use data imaging or mirroring in their backup strategy. While these technologies have been around for some time, they can be very difficult to use. Most require the user to have an understanding of either DOS or Linux. For many users, this stipulation automatically indicates that the data mirroring procedure will be long and involved. Some solution providers even go so far as to post warnings to their users such as: Do not try running software while in Windows. While the program may be able to complete some steps, the result will be an unstable system.

Another problem with mirroring solutions is drive capacity scalability. Solutions using for example, a 60GB drive to store mirrored data from a 40GB drive, traditionally have turned the backup drive into a "40GB" drive, making the remaining 20GB inaccessible for any other use.

As an alternative, a standard Window's interface may be used to automatically backup all the user's data, incrementally, in native file format. No backing out of Windows; no long command strings; no compression.

In workgroups, SOHOs, and other multi-system environments, the market is beginning to see the first of such desktop solutions providing as much as 60GB of storage and transferring data at 1.5MB/sec over a hot-pluggable USB interface. A compact, fully self-contained unit incorporating the latest hard drive technology and software innovations, one solution even provides automatic installation upon connection and a patent-pending automatic, launcher that copies the entire host-drive, including partitions and formats, without requiring the user to input any software commands. These solutions offer capacity scalability, making it possible for users to set and adjust the partitions, leaving remaining storage space available and accessible to the user.

Going Native

The main difference between mirroring or imaging and making a native file format copy is ease of use. Imaging and mirroring force the user out of Windows and into more complex operating systems. For the average user, Windows is the easiest and most frequently used OS. As a result, backup solutions relying on Windows, provide a more "natural" and comfortable environment for the user who is then more likely to use the solution on a regular basis. In the event the user forgets, forward-thinking solutions provide a small pop-up window that can be set to remind the user that it is time to run a backup.

Imaging and mirroring-based backup solutions also limit users to complete system backups only. This restriction significantly increases the amount of time dedicated to backup. Solutions using native file format on the other hand support incremental backups. After a brief search of the host drive, only new and revised files are copied resulting in a backup that can be completed in the amount of time it takes to get a cup of coffee.

Another advantage to native file format backup is that both files and applications can be run seamlessly direct from the backup drive and through the host computer without installing files or otherwise taking up hard drive space on the host. Some applications, such as PowerPoint presentations, can be developed on the host system, backed up incrementally, and run directly from the backup drive on another notebook or desktop system, without installing the application software or any other files on the host.

This feature frees users from carrying mountains of media, stacks of software, or even packing their portable to share files outside the network. Compact solutions, fully self-contained units, can house all the data, travel with the user, and be shared by simply plugging them into another computer. Seen by other computers simply as another hard drive and providing the same accessibility as the host's native hard drive, the user has complete access to all their data without risking a shared virus or leaving any other unwanted files on the host.

Don't Forget the Notebook

Although 40 percent of today's workforce is mobile, few organizations have a policy for backing up their notebooks. Of that 40 percent, 53 percent have already experienced some degree of data loss. The reasons, according to a recent study, why mobile and remote users don't backup includes: difficulty of use, cumbersome equipment, additional storage media costs, and the amount of time necessary to perform the backup itself.

Solutions designed specifically for automatically backing up notebook computers must offer the end-user ease of use, high capacity, compact design, and economy of use. One such solution, the pocket-sized Automatic Backup System (ABS) from CMS Peripherals, is fully self-contained for easy transport. These powerful Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000 compatible solutions deliver up to 4MB/sec, PCMCIA performance of 1.5MB/sec, USB in capacities ranging from 6GB up to 30GB at a cost of about $.05 per megabyte.

For mobile users, one of the key benefits to a portable notebook solution is the ability to backup data while on the road and share files with other computers. Solutions that only backup modified files also save mobile users valuable time and notebook battery power.

Instant Disaster Recovery

For a truly simplified backup solution people will actually use, Windows-based systems allow users to restore data utilizing Windows Explorer for easy drag and drop single file recovery or the "Find" function for searches. Using this broadly recognized utility greatly reduces the learning curve and eliminates the user's need to learn new software. In addition, the "Backup with Compare" feature allows files to be selected and restored directly to the source drive.

The real future of backup, however, is instant disaster recovery. Configured with a bootable hard drive the next generation of these easy-to-use, enabled solutions, can replace their failed notebook hard drive with their backup hard drive. Upon initial insertion into the host notebook, the backup system scans the partitions and formats on the hosts' hard drive and makes a clone of the C: drive on the backup drive.

Regardless of where the user is or the time of the disk failure, the notebook hard drive can be quickly and easily swapped with the backup solution's hard drive containing the user's backed up partitions, applications, and files. Power up the notebook, and the user is immediately ready to continue work.

Ken Burke is the president at CMS Peripherals, Inc. (Costa Mesa, CA).