I like DVD-RW for backup and use the full version of Backup MyPC (the
"limited edition" version of which came with my Sony DVD-RW. However,
a DVD-RW only (!) holds 4.7 GB of data, or about 7 GB after
compression. If you are only doing incremental backups to the DVD (and
perhaps doing regular full backups to tape), that is not a problem,
and the devices are fast enough that you don't need to do them
overnight, though you can schedule them to take place at a specified
time when no-one should be around. To do a full backup on a typical
business system, you will need more than one disk, so someone needs to
be around to change media, but you still don't want the system to be
in use, which tends to cause problems.
The other point to bear in mind is that disaster recovery is a
multistep process if you are backed up to DVD using "normal" backup
software - you will generally have to restore your OS and backup
software from their original media and then restore your last full
backup. I also make occasional full image backups using Norton Ghost,
since these images can be restored in one step to give you a fully
configured and working system. The (significant) down side is that
they are no help at all in the more usual situation when a single file
or directory has been trashed or inadvertently deleted and you simply
want to recover those files.
I hope that you find these thoughts and opinions helpful.
Something tried and tested? I want to recommend to clients and I don't want
them to be disappointed. I am looking for scheduled overnight backups and
ability to overwrite DVD-RW disks with new backups automatically.
Thanks
Regards
Please respond to the Newsgroup, so that others may benefit from the exchange.
Peter R. Fletcher
