What is data backup? Discuss the different ways of back up.
Answers
Answer:
ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ ᴀᴘᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴏғғᴇʀᴇᴅ sᴇᴠᴇʀᴀʟ ᴛʏᴘᴇs ᴏғ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ ᴏᴘᴇʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴs. ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴏɴ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ ᴛʏᴘᴇs ᴀʀᴇ ᴀ ғᴜʟʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ, ɪɴᴄʀᴇᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ. ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘ ᴛʏᴘᴇs ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅᴇ sʏɴᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ ғᴜʟʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋᴜᴘs ᴀɴᴅ ᴍɪʀʀᴏʀɪɴɢ.
Answer:
a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
different ways of back up
1. USB stick
usb stick
Small, cheap and convenient, USB sticks are everywhere, and their portability means that they’re easy to store safely, but also pretty easy to lose. There are questions about the number of read/write cycles they can take, so should be considered alongside other backup methods.
Pros:
+ Extremely portable
+ Very cheap
+ Can easily transfer data to other sources
Cons:
– Portability means they’re small and easy to lose
– Questions over read/write cycle longevity
2. External hard drive
external hard drive
External hard drives are just what they sound like – hard drives that live outside your computer, meaning they can be plugged in to other sources. If using them for backup, it’s best not to use them as an ‘extra every day hard drive’.
Pros:
+ Relatively cheap
+ Plenty of storage space for larger files
Cons:
– Potentially open to problems which lost files in the first place (a power surge or malware)
3. Time Machine
31K9Lw38KvL
For the Mac users out there, Time Machine is an option that backs up to external hard drives automatically. Apple sells its own brand of dedicated wireless Time Capsules, but you can use any hard disk for it. Using this method, you’ll automatically keep backups hourly for the last 24 hours, daily for the last month and then weekly backups until the machine is full.
Pros:
+ Automated, meaning you shouldn’t forget to stay up to date
+ Frequency of backups means you should never be too out of date
+ Backs up whole drive, not just the key files
Cons:
– Dedicated wireless machine is expensive
– Mac only
4. Network Attached Storage
wdfMyCloud-2
Businesses tend to backup their files to network attached storage, but with more and more homes having multiple computers, the idea has a certain appeal, especially for those looking to save files from more than one source. With prices coming down, a dedicated wireless storage solution is a convenient option which requires less thought.
Pros:
+ Automatic backups mean you don’t risk forgetting
+ Wireless solutions also work with phones and tablets
Cons:
– Can be expensive
– Can be awkward to set up and maintain
5. Cloud Storage
dropbox
While network attached storage is essentially your own Cloud Server, there are plenty of third party cloud storage options around: free, paid, or free with paid extras. iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive are big names, but others are available.
Pros:
+ Can be done automatically
+ A certain amount of space is usually free
+ Device agnostic
Cons:
– Requires an internet connection to work
– You can’t account for their security breaches
– Companies aren’t obliged to keep these services around forever
6. Printing
printer
At a first glance, this might sound a facetious inclusion. But while considerably less technically advanced, printing offers you a hard copy of your most important documents that will survive power outages, and are easy to store and access even if your computer is out of action for a few days. Of course it’s hard to keep documents up to date this way, and it won’t work for video or audio files, but for that novel you’d be devastated to lose, it’s certainly worth considering.
Pros:
+ A backup that won’t be affected by hardware outages or tech headaches
+ Impossible for hackers to access
Cons:
– Impossible for certain file types
– Awkward to manage
– Less practical for longer documents
– Not great for the environment
However you choose to backup your data (and it’s smart to consider using more than one solution, at least for your life-or-death files), make sure that you do it. Often people don’t think about what were to happen if their valuable files were to be lost, until it’s too late.