Tips on Planning Your Backup Strategy

Backup is probably the most essential component of any corporate network, but is also one of those things that are done wrong with dreadful regularity. Yet it's not difficult to get your backup strategy right. Here are some tips on planning backup strategy effectively.

1. Determine the Frequency of your Backups

Most (but not all) backup solutions on the market offer an automated scheduling mechanism. Depending on how often you use your PC, scheduling a periodical backup is a great way to provide peace of mind and ensure longevity of data.

2. Choose your Backup Medium

Deciding on the best media type for your backups should be dependent upon how much data you wish to backup, how often your backups are scheduled, and the shelf life of the medium.

For simple file-by-file backups, you may choose to backup your data to a USB memory drive. The USB drive is not only ultra portable, but also rewritable, relatively fast and virtually indestructible.

When it comes time to backup your entire hard drive, you may chose to use an external CD-RW writer. CD-RW media is a perfect solution for large data backup because each disk is rewriteable and relatively inexpensive.

3. Always Check the Source Data for Errors

Before backing up any data, it is absolutely critical to ensure that the integrity of the data is valid; otherwise, all your backups will be in vein!

4. Store the Backups in a Safe Place

Once the backup is complete and data integrity has been checked, store your backup in an atmosphere friendly place - safe from fire, water, or direct sunlight exposure. For ultimate backup protection, you should also keep one set of rotating backups off-site.

To know more about Windows backup freeware: EaseUS Todo Backup Free