[OPLINTECH] Computer Back Up Options

[Chad Neeper]

A bit along the lines of what Joe says, I often don't put quite as much
emphasis on the replaceable "infrastructure" so much as the irreplaceable
data. Like you, most of the libraries I work with no longer host their own
ILS on-premises, so that offloads a huge stress. E-mail and web sites are
usually also hosted off-premises. Mostly, the irreplaceable data is
operational staff files (Office documents, publications and the
like), pictures, and user profiles (browser bookmarks!!!). The rest is
infrastructure which, as Joe mentioned, is often not quite as important to
be able to recreate EXACTLY.

For my own libraries, servers are virtualized using VMware software. One of
the benefits to using Virtual Machines is hardware abstraction. The server
running in a VM doesn't really care what the real hardware is. The same
unchanged VM runs on my seven-year old VM Host Server equally as well as
any brand new VM Host Server (albeit a little slower...yes, I ought to
upgrade). So in addition to restoring backups, it makes hardware upgrades a
breeze. Drop a new VM Host Server into place and copy the VMs over to the
new Host Server and done. The VMs don't know or care that you replaced the
actual hardware it's running on because the hardware is abstracted by the
VMware hypervisor.

I'll typically make a backup copy of an entire virtual machine and keep it
on a single large non-redundant hard drive in the Virtual Machine Host
Server. Extra copies of the backups can then be copied to an external hard
drive and be taken off-site. Then if something bad happens to the (virtual)
server, I can discard the VM if necessary, restore the backup copy, then
restore the data from nightly data backups. There may be operating system
updates and maybe some supporting software updates (virus scanners and the
like) to do, but since the infrastructure doesn't usually change all that
significantly on a day to day basis, things can get up and running fairly
quickly.

For really nasty catastrophes, a new VM Host Server can be built or
borrowed and the off-site backup of the VM can be quickly restored. Again,
restore data from the nightlies and done.

Since the nightlies will be pretty much just the irreplaceable data and not
necessarily programs, operating systems, config, etc. the amount of data
you actually need to back up can be, if necessary, relatively small in the
grand scheme of things. Your backup software of choice should easily handle
the job.

I often use Backup Exec (TechSoup...and Symantec...are our friends!) but
I've also created simple DIY file backups using FreeFileSync (open source).
I typically put three external hard drives into a rotation. The staff leave
one hard drive attached for a week, then rotate them, ideally keeping one
off-site at all times. (You'd have to decide your own rotation based on
your own risk and loss tolerance assessment.) Non-technical staff aren't
always reliable, though, so for many of my libraries, I periodically
synchronize an off-site copy over a VPN to my own servers, just for an
extra safety net.

Oh, lastly, the general rule is...workstations don't get individually
backed up. IE favorites and documents in user profiles are redirected to
the server, and gets backed up each night. So important data needs to be
kept on the server, otherwise you're SOL.


It works for me; your mileage may vary.
Chad

______________________________
*Chad Neeper*
Senior Systems Engineer

*Level 9 Networks*
740-548-8070 (voice)
866-214-6607 (fax)

*Full IT/Computer consulting services -- Specialized in libraries and
schools*

On Tue, Jul 28, 2015 at 11:27 AM, Tara Sidwell <tsidwell at seolibraries.org>
wrote:

>  Good Morning,
>
>
> I am looking into what options we have to back up our virtual computer
> system.  We use WYSE terminals and have looked at options where the
> complete system would be backed up including servers, domain controllers,
> and files.  This option is very costly in terms of monthly fees for offsite
> backup and technical support.  I would like to hear any opinions anyone
> might have or any experiences backing up information in a small library.
> Do we need this much backup capacity?  We are a small library system with
> one branch.  We are maintaining 50 machines counting patron and staff
> devices.  We are a member of SEO, so all library automation is backed up
> with them.  I appreciate any thoughts you could share.
>
>
> Thank you in advance,
>
>
> Tara Sidwell
>
> Director, Kate Love Simpson Morgan County Library System
>
> McConnelsville and Chesterhill Ohio
>
> 740-962-2533
>
>
>
>
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>
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