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Disaster Recovery for Computer Data
This page was created on 17/1/2011 after the Queensland Floods and updated as of 7/9/2011.
The disaster may be flood, fire, earthquake, theft, no electricity or anything that means your business computers are not available in part or in whole.
These suggestions can also make your business more efficient and lower the operating costs.
Lower cost or cost of ownership needs to be looked at over many years.
The greatest cost benefit comes when you save your business or upgrade to new computers.
The Aceway Software Disaster Recovery and Better Operating Plan
Step 1 – Backup
Scenario – You have daily backup to tape or a removable disk. The tape or disk is taken home each night by an employee. There are multiple tapes or disks and they are rotated so only the oldest one is in the office ready for the next backup.
Comment: That’s a good start. Anything less and you are in trouble already.
Suggestion: Get online backup. Your data is automatically backed up to the ‘cloud’ (see below). This backup software is very clever and only backs up the bits that have changed since the last backup. It is encrypted and password protected. Start by keeping your existing backup methods and add this method.
What is the ‘cloud’? Cloud is a relatively new term. It basically means there is a facility somewhere in the world and accessed over the internet. These ‘cloud’ servers can have much more powerful backup and disaster recovery facilities than you could ever afford.
Click here for more information on online backup.
Step 2 – Email
Scenario – You have a Microsoft Small Business Server running Exchange which is the email server. You use Microsoft Outlook as your email client software.
Comment: Your emails and attachments are stored on your computers. Depending on how they are set up you may have .PST files on each workstation or they may be centrally stored on the server. Firstly check that they are actually being backed up.
Suggestion: Get Google Mail. Everyone has heard of Gmail but they don’t realise some of the neat features Google provides. You can even keep your me@mycompany.com.au type of email address. You can have Google receive emails from your email server so that a copy of all received emails is also held on their server. You can access these emails at any time and from anywhere there is a PC with an internet connection. It can also optionally mark them as read and forward them to your usual email client. You can use Gmail in a way that that adds to or replaces your own email server. Google maintains the latest anti-virus and anti-spam and you don’t have to.
Step 3 – Accounting
Many people use MYOB. MYOB now has a ‘cloud’ version that is operated from a browser. There are others such as Zero and more are doing it. Move your accounting to the ‘cloud’ so that your data is more securely kept on their servers and away from your own.
Step 4 – Move towards ‘thin client’ operation
‘Thin client’ is where the workstation or PC does not have any software installed except the essentials to get it started and provide access to servers or the internet. There are various stages that are too numerous to elaborate on here but the target is to be able to operate from a computer that is minimal.
Windows Terminal Server , Citrix and Unix/Linux are examples of server operating systems that allow for ‘thin clients’. The former is the most affordable. You use Remote Desktop (RDP) to access your applications which are preferably all on the server.
Retail Point-of-Sale with a POS terminal or cashdraw may be more difficult to move away from a PC or workstation (thick client). Graphics intensive applications such as ‘CAD’ are also better on a local PC (thick client).
Step 5 – Move Your ‘Office’ Applications to the ‘Cloud’
‘Office’ applications typically means Microsoft Office and mainly Word and Excel. These are now offered as internet applications. Google Docs is an example.
Step 6 – Move to Maximum ‘Cloud’ Operation
The goal is to move all critical applications to ‘cloud’ computing. Today, this may only be achievable in part. Keep it as a goal and before any new computer or software purchase revisit this goal and make decisions accordingly. Google is releasing a new Cloud operating system that installs on a minimal PC and accesses the internet. The Apple iPad is already a good example of what to expect the new generation of client computesr to be like. Internet printers are coming that are connected to the internet instead of your server. The ultimate ‘thin client’ is when you do not need to host the server. The advantages are access from anywhere, zero or minimal installation on your network, ease of maintenance, lower cost of ownership, and ease of migration to new computers.
Why?
If you had all the above when a disaster stuck your business, you would only need any PC or compatible device with an internet connection and your business could continue operating
or at least operating in part to the extent that you have implemented these steps.
What is the weakness?
If the internet conection is down, you cannot access whatever is online to the 'cloud', at least from your office.
The easiest to imagine is an electricity blackout. It may be external. It may be caused by a flood.
Your building may be OK but the area has lost electricty.
It may be internal and be as simple as a fuse that will not reset or earth-leakage device and you cannot find the cause.
SOLUTION. You can take a laptop to a place where there is a wireless internet connection (e.g. MacDonalds, an airport) and be connected.
You can have two ADSL connections to your building from two different providers
or you can have a laptop with a wireless dongle with an internet connection.
It is a disaster situation though. Weigh this up against the other disaster scenarios.
Ask yourself this question.
Whatever the cause, imagine a scenario where your computers are down or stolen or destroyed and what are you going to do?
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