Progressive Distributor - How to protect your Web data

How to protect your Web data

by Chris Kivlehan

The Internet has become a key revenue-generating channel for many distributors. Industrial and construction buyers spend millions of dollars online. For many, going online to make a purchase or to find information that will lead to a purchase is now second nature.

A natural consequence of this situation is that enormous amounts of very valuable data are stored on computers. And, as we all well know, computers tend to die from time to time. For every business using the Web as a revenue-generating channel, data is an important company asset. The loss of a customer order database could be devastating to a business, leading to unfulfilled orders, dissatisfied customers and losing touch with thousands of clients. Death-prone machines that they are, depending on one computer alone for storing all of your important data is a formula for disaster.

Since it is pretty self-evident that preventing the loss of orders and customer information is important, why is it that backup solutions are among the lowest priorities of most businesses shopping for Web hosting?

Backups could be compared to life insurance policies for your Web operation, but they are really something more. Quality backups are like a life insurance plan that would resurrect you if you passed away, rather than simply grant your loved ones some monetary assistance.

Like a Web hosting plan, a backup solution should appropriately match what your company is doing on the Web. Businesses running small brochure Web sites need the most modest sort of backups; however, businesses collecting data from customers and prospects through the Web need reliable backup solutions.

The acid test for a backup plan is whether it provides the means to restore your site to a fully operational condition within one hour after a server crash.

A modest backup suitable for a brochure-style site can consist of simply keeping a spare copy of all of the files on a separate computer. If the site is such that visitors do not submit information to any databases or add content, this type of backup is perfect. Certainly, a basic brochure site could be restored very quickly with this type of backup.

Sites that dynamically interact with visitors and constantly write new information to databases cannot rely on simply keeping spare copies of their files. Those copied files are quickly outdated. Databases that accept information online need to be backed up frequently. How frequently depends on how important the data is to the company, and how unacceptable some data loss is in a disaster.

For a relatively low traffic site where the data being collected isn’t all that critical, weekly backups may suffice. For sites collecting large amounts of orders and client information every day, daily backups are a minimum requirement. The very largest e-commerce sites take backups on an hourly basis, or even have their data constantly written to backup computers in a process known as replication.

Today’s technology tools
Technologies used for backup solutions vary depending on the operating system platform and the type of data being backed up. In a Windows environment, Veritas (www.veritas.com) software’s BackupExec is a premier solution for those that cannot afford any data loss. Veritas produces special agents to work with many leading software applications to ensure data from those applications is backed up perfectly. In a Unix environment, open source backup software such as Bacula (www.bacula.org) makes for a high-quality, low-cost solution.

In addition to the software products that actually run backups, businesses must consider what type of media they want their backup stored on. Choices include secondary hard drives in the same computer that is running the site, tape drives, separate network storage devices and CDs or DVDs. CDs and DVDs make for great portable backups, but are limited to relatively small file sizes (roughly 700MB and 4.8GB respectively). Network storage devices can be very expensive, but can backup enormous amounts of data. Tape drives offer perhaps the best balance of cost, storage capacity, portability, security and quality. Backups to a second hard drive are the easiest on the budget and the fastest in terms of restore time, but are vulnerable to corruption in a situation where the disaster is caused by a hacker.

Choosing the right backup plan for your business should be done in consultation with an experienced professional who can help you design a solution that will allow you to restore your site to full functionality as quickly as needed. While often overlooked in the price-conscious shopping process, backups are critical to the long-term success of any Web operation. Computers being what they are, after a certain amount of time it is a given that your backup solution will be tested. It is just a matter of when. It is best to be prepared for this day with an appropriate backup solution.

Four things you can do
1) Have a written policy and procedures in place on how to handle a restore from backup. In a time of crisis, this will cut down on confusion and allow the process to move along more smoothly.

2) Test restores from backup. This is critical. Some complex applications might require special software agents or configurations to backup and restore properly. Make sure the test restore is successfully accomplished in a time frame that would be acceptable for a real restore. If the process takes too long, you may have to reconsider your backup strategy.

3) Physically protect backup data from hackers and thieves. Someone getting hold of an unencrypted backup is just as bad as someone breaking in to your office or warehouse to steal inventory.

4) Keep copies of software that you may need to reinstall with your backups. This includes operating systems, software applications and security patches.

Chris Kivlehan is the marketing manager for INetU Managed Hosting, an award-winning Web hosting provider that specializes in managed dedicated hosting for businesses nationwide. Contact Chris at www.inetu.net, chrisk@inetu.netor at (610) 266-7441.