Whats’s a Backup?
Data Backup is a copy or archive of the important information on a device which can be used to restore the original information in the event of a data loss.
Data losses can occur in many forms, from hard drive failures to ransomware attacks and even human error or physical theft. No matter the misfortune, a data backup could be the respite you’re looking for to restore the data stored on your devices. It’s typically stored in a secure, separate location from an original device, such as a cloud.
DATA BACKUP SOLUTION
In choosing a data backup solution, individuals can take cues from how businesses develop their own data backup strategies and do this by considering the recovery point objectives (RPO) and recovery time objectives (RTO):
- RPO is the amount of time between your data backups, whether that’s 24 hours or a month, and understanding that this is the span of time in which you’ll lose your data in the event of an incident. The shorter your RPO, the less data you lose and vice versa.
- RTO is the time it takes to restore your data. Generally, the faster or more streamlined your storage solution, the faster your recovery time will be.
At the end of the day, the best data backup solution is one that suits your needs — and that’s different for everyone. For this reason, you also might want to consider:
- Ease of set up
- Cost
- Storage space
- The security of your data
- How quickly your data can be backed up
- Ease of access to your data backup
This article will list a plenty of options that are available for people looking to backup up their data, all with their own pros and cons.
USB STICK
These are small portable devices mostly used to transfer files from device to device. USB sticks are everywhere, and their portability means that they’re easy to store and safely. Their size is an indication of their storage capacity, with some supporting as little as 128MB but others capable of storing up to 256 GB.
| PROS | CONS |
| Extremely Portable | Small in size |
| Very Cheap | Easy to lose |
| Easy transfer of data | Questions over read/write cycle longevity |
EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
External hard drives are portable, easy to use, and can provide a large amount of storage whenever you need it. You can store the actual device any place you like, and carry a large number of files with you wherever you go.
| PROS | CONS |
| Relatively Cheap | Potential power surge issues |
| Plenty of storage | Attraction to malware |
NETWORK ATTACHED STORAGE
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 | CONS |
| Automatic backups mean you don’t risk forgetting | Can be expensive |
| Wireless solutions also work with phones and tablets | Can be awkward to set up and maintain |
CLOUD STORAGE
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 | CONS |
| Can be done automatically | Requires an internet connection to work |
| A certain amount of space is usually free | You can’t account for their security breaches |
| Device agnostic | Companies aren’t obliged to keep these services around forever |
PRINTING
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 | CONS |
| A backup that won’t be affected by hardware outages or tech headaches | Impossible for certain file types |
| Impossible for hackers to access | Less practical for longer documents |
| Awkward to manage |
