Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/825042
30 FEDA News & Views The latest storage appliances typically offer virtualized storage capabilities, an advanced capability that allows for dis- parate storage devices to be deployed and managed as a single node. However, note that virtualized storage is not con- sidered adequate for a disaster recovery strategy, given the latter's heftier empha- sis on data integrity and durability. One increasingly touted option for businesses is cloud storage services mar- keted as being suitable for enterprises. This could come in many forms, though we are most interested in those that allow for the archival of data backups from network-attached storage (NAS) or using the cloud to share fi les between multiple PCs. Backup Options Despite the many horror stories of data loss out there, it is worth pointing out that even a basic backup regime is often adequate to protect against mis- takenly deleted fi les or drive crashes. On this front, the bundled "File History" backup tool in Windows 10 will perform regular data backups to either locally installed storage drives or to storage vol- umes mapped over the network. Commercial backup applications is another option, which typically incorpo- rates remote management capabilities, or the ability to manage groups of PCs from a single console. Of course, such backups are generally kept onsite, which means that they are susceptible to both malware and localized disasters affecting the offi ce. Organizations where PCs are mapped directly to storage appliances such as a NAS may want to consider leveraging their built-in capabilities for data back- up. This approach is considered more robust since backups initiated from the NAS can be stored in a protected storage repository. Moreover, the ability to make "snapshots" backups means that they can be done with no downtime and initi- ated as frequently as every 10 minutes. Where protection against employee sabotage or natural disasters is a con- cern, offsite storage is probably the safest approach. On this front, tried-and-tested tape storage is ideal due to the suitability of tape cartridges for transportation to off-site locations and the proven long- term data retention properties of tape. Depending on the tape backup sys- tem that you use, it may be necessary to Developing a Backup Strategy for Your SMB Storage 101 Coined three decades ago, the term "RAID," or redundant array of indepen- dent disks, essentially combines multiple physical disk drives into a single logical unit. The objective is simply to avoid data loss in the event of a single drive failure, though more complex variations can tolerate up to two simultaneous drive failures without data loss. RAID arrays are typically implemented with specialized controllers within serv- ers or using dedicated storage applianc- es. While highly fault-tolerant, these drive arrays offer no protection against acci- dental—or deliberate—data deletion or fi le corruption. Many operating systems also support software RAID and can be used to increase reliability without the need for additional hardware. Tech Blogger Paul Mah Modern businesses generate an immense amount of digital data, and while storage drives have grown in storage capacity to meet this demand, storage and backup strategies have often been overlooked or ignored. For small and midsized organizations, this means an urgent need to develop an effective backup strategy to cope with this deluge of data. Here's a brief look at some of the storage categories available today, and an outline of a few backup options that you can adopt. Modern businesses generate an immense amount of digital data, and while storage drives have grown and backup strategies have often been overlooked or ignored. For small and midsized organizations, this means an urgent need to develop an effective backup strategy to cope with this deluge of data. Here's a brief look at some of the storage categories available today, and an outline of a few backup options that you can adopt. Modern businesses generate an immense amount of this means an urgent need to develop an effective backup strategy to cope with this deluge of data. Here's a brief look at some of the storage categories available Despite being extremely slow for finding and retrieving individual files, tape can be substantially faster than disk for sequential data access— or what happens during data recovery.