Willl
Elite Member
Ink ?
Computer Backup Services
- Thread starter ultrarunner
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BuddyN
New member
....sorry Willl. a better word would have been the CD substrate that the laser writes into.
/pine
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Data written onto CDs or DVDs is done with a laser via a "burning" drive...it makes no difference if the laser is part of a duplication machine or a personal computer...a contributing factor is the format of the data before it is transfered onto the media (burned)...if the data is of a standardized format it is permanent and can be read by with the same standardized software regardless...if the data is formatted using proprietary software it can only be read using the same proprietary software...
A good example is...: try burning a typical video that is viewable on a computer...onto a DVD...then put the DVD into your stand alone DVD player...chances are it will not work because the two formats are not compatible (standardized)
there are several software applications that allow a user to drag and drop files onto a (formatted) DVD or CD (as a back up etc) much the same as a hard drive...however most of these applications are not compatible with each other so if the data is wriiten to the media using one application it is likely not readable by another...
dmccarty
Super Star Member
DVDs/CDs are pressed. What is burned on a PC is well burned. 
Are any of these technologies archival? Depends on ones definition of the word archival.
Even a magnetic tape, who uses those anymore, and hard drives will have a lifetime.
The reality is there is no perfect backup. I back up on external USB drives, USB thumb drives and DVDs. Each has its good points and bad points.
Since we are talking about backing up computer data you also have to worry about having hardware the will read the media used to hold the backed up data as well as the software to use the data once recovered.
I have programs on paper can cassette tapes. The paper tape is still in good shape. I doubt the cassette tape is readable at this point. In both cases its a moot point since in both cases I don't have the computer to run those programs nor do I have a way to read the media.
Later,
Dan
Are any of these technologies archival? Depends on ones definition of the word archival.
Even a magnetic tape, who uses those anymore, and hard drives will have a lifetime.
The reality is there is no perfect backup. I back up on external USB drives, USB thumb drives and DVDs. Each has its good points and bad points.
Since we are talking about backing up computer data you also have to worry about having hardware the will read the media used to hold the backed up data as well as the software to use the data once recovered.
I have programs on paper can cassette tapes. The paper tape is still in good shape. I doubt the cassette tape is readable at this point. In both cases its a moot point since in both cases I don't have the computer to run those programs nor do I have a way to read the media.
Later,
Dan
BuddyN
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/pine
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are you insinuating that "back-up" data is "pressed"...seems kind of extreme for an end user
neilly2
Silver Member
I've worked in data centers for some of the largest financial institutions in the world, and I prefer to take a page out of there playbook.
They store the data in multiple locations -- period. The chances of catastrophe simultaneously in different parts of the country is incredibly small. You want the back up to be as far away from the source as possible. They don't squirrel it away on discs and bury it in the backyard.
Also, why presume that the servers for the online backup servers are overseas?? They don't need cheap sweatshop labor, and they aren't breaking US law which is the impetus behind placing servers overseas. It makes more sense for them to keep it domestic -- i'm not sure myself but i'm going to find out for sure.
They store the data in multiple locations -- period. The chances of catastrophe simultaneously in different parts of the country is incredibly small. You want the back up to be as far away from the source as possible. They don't squirrel it away on discs and bury it in the backyard.
Also, why presume that the servers for the online backup servers are overseas?? They don't need cheap sweatshop labor, and they aren't breaking US law which is the impetus behind placing servers overseas. It makes more sense for them to keep it domestic -- i'm not sure myself but i'm going to find out for sure.
Willl
Elite Member
What medium do they use ?
ragkar
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Ultrarunner, I'm really concerned about backups since I lost a hard drive last week.
First of all, the proposed solution of an external USB drive is not for you since W98 and W98SE does not support USB 2.0. I had W98SE for many years and looked hard for a software solution and there was none. You are limited to USB 1.1 which is much slower than 2.0
Of course if you're patient or do your backups unattended over night, it may work.
For the rest of us USB ext drives are very cheap. Just tonight I ordered a 1TB drive for $90. And USB flash drives (also called thumb drives) are only $72 for 32GB (USB 1.1 and 2.0).
It takes about 20 minutes to burn a 4.5GB dvd so that may be your best solution.
If you have only one physical drive you might consider a second drive to be used for backup storage. I bought a used 320GB drive off ebay $55 last friday midnight and had it in my hands on monday.
When my last week failure occurred I had good and bad luck. The drive was the second and didn't have my operating system or all the other programs. And I'm afraid that my backups were six months old.
First of all, the proposed solution of an external USB drive is not for you since W98 and W98SE does not support USB 2.0. I had W98SE for many years and looked hard for a software solution and there was none. You are limited to USB 1.1 which is much slower than 2.0
Of course if you're patient or do your backups unattended over night, it may work.
For the rest of us USB ext drives are very cheap. Just tonight I ordered a 1TB drive for $90. And USB flash drives (also called thumb drives) are only $72 for 32GB (USB 1.1 and 2.0).
It takes about 20 minutes to burn a 4.5GB dvd so that may be your best solution.
If you have only one physical drive you might consider a second drive to be used for backup storage. I bought a used 320GB drive off ebay $55 last friday midnight and had it in my hands on monday.
When my last week failure occurred I had good and bad luck. The drive was the second and didn't have my operating system or all the other programs. And I'm afraid that my backups were six months old.
neilly2
Silver Member
Blade servers I believe. I'm not a computer guru, we were building out the facilities --- if you eyed the computer equipment to long security would be on you.
After 9/11 the fed passed laws mandating minimums for building security, facility and data redundancy, because of the threat of terrorists targeting the financial system. One of the first things done was to take the name of the company off the side of the buildings. I passed by a building every day for years and didn't think anything of it until we went to work there -- it was nothing but data racks. Hiding in plain sight.
Little did they know the banks would wind up imploding themselves.
After 9/11 the fed passed laws mandating minimums for building security, facility and data redundancy, because of the threat of terrorists targeting the financial system. One of the first things done was to take the name of the company off the side of the buildings. I passed by a building every day for years and didn't think anything of it until we went to work there -- it was nothing but data racks. Hiding in plain sight.
Little did they know the banks would wind up imploding themselves.