Computer Data back up media

[ghosthunter]

OT: Google Gdrive pushing through hehe. ok ito para sa mga netbooks....

Not good for backing up sensitive data nor huge amounts of data unless you own an ISP wide bandwidth. Only good for small non-sensitive documents and such.

[Yoda]

OT: Google Gdrive pushing through hehe. ok ito para sa mga netbooks....

For personal use, maybe. For businesses, it doesn't make much sense unless you can establish an SLA with Google. And doing a full backup of gigabytes of data over the Internet doesn't sound like fun.

[ghosthunter]

* OldBlue aka Gen Miting

Your post is totally irrelevant to the topic.

[Memphis Raines]

Currently we're using SDCards (Sandisk). So far it does the trick. Keeping my fingers crossed, we haven't experienced any file corruption during transition.

Much more reliable than DVD-RWs.

:twocents:

[Horsepower]

The problem with solid state storage media like the SD cards you want is that it relies heavily on clean electricity to work.

If one unfortunate time line surge strikes, all that card will be is toast (and I've seen it happen).

The good thing about optical storage however is that whatever happens, all the drive has to do is read the burn patterns from a rotating disc. Even in the event of unfortunate surges, the computer and its drives can get damaged but your data remains intact.

If you really wanna push through with SD, then you can use redundant backups using the media to increase your chances.

[oj88]

Flash memory is the way to go. But even though they're solid state, they also have finite read/write cycles before they go bad. But seeing how they're getting cheaper and cheaper, and the fact the CDR-King is practically giving them away, get two or maybe three 8GB SDHC or thumb drives and make multiple copies of the same backup instance. If one flash memory fails or gets destroyed, you still have one or two left to retrieve from.

[badkuk]

The problem with solid state storage media like the SD cards you want is that it relies heavily on clean electricity to work.

If one unfortunate time line surge strikes, all that card will be is toast (and I've seen it happen).

...but a few UPSes should fix the problem, right?

[Memphis Raines]

^...yeah, UPS plus AVR maybe? Also it's better to check if your Pc's Power Supply has the correct rating for your processor.

.

[ghosthunter]

Flash memory is the way to go. But even though they're solid state, they also have finite read/write cycles before they go bad. But seeing how they're getting cheaper and cheaper, and the fact the CDR-King is practically giving them away, get two or maybe three 8GB SDHC or thumb drives and make multiple copies of the same backup instance. If one flash memory fails or gets destroyed, you still have one or two left to retrieve from.

Even if a SD card is limited to 100,000 write cycles per cell, that is still good for at least 50,000 back up cycles (erase and write with new data) per cell. Assuming one back up cycle per day, that is 50,000 days.

I guess this is the new back up path I will be implementing soon.

[Horsepower]

Yes, UPS. Unless the power supply is the source of the surge.

However, most businesses usually use high grade branded power supplies (often in redundant config) so the chances are pretty slim for this to happen.

[ghosthunter]

The problem with solid state storage media like the SD cards you want is that it relies heavily on clean electricity to work.

If one unfortunate time line surge strikes, all that card will be is toast (and I've seen it happen).

Not really. Just enough power stabilization to maintain a stable computer is enough to write properly. SD Cards do take their power from the motherboard.

The good thing about optical storage however is that whatever happens, all the drive has to do is read the burn patterns from a rotating disc. Even in the event of unfortunate surges, the computer and its drives can get damaged but your data remains intact.

Optical drives are actually more sensitive to power fluctuations than SD cards. I have toasted a lot of CDRs and DVDRs because of a sudden flux of power. Having a UPS helped though.

[oj88]

Even if a SD card is limited to 100,000 write cycles per cell, that is still good for at least 50,000 back up cycles (erase and write with new data) per cell. Assuming one back up cycle per day, that is 50,000 days.

I guess this is the new back up path I will be implementing soon.

Theoretically true. They have ridiculously high MTBF that they should last three lifetimes. But in reality, its reliability is only as strong as it's weakest cell (or a block of it). And in a flash memory chip that's roughly 8,000,000,000 bytes big, the chances of that looming failure happening becomes equally significant.

That's why it's still best to have 2 or more copies of your backup... just in case.

[ghosthunter]

Just updating... I have gone with USB flash drives as server data back up.

Three 4gig usb flash drives for Mon-Thurs / Tues-Friday / Wed-Sat.

Hopefully the USB ports in front of the server will be durable. If not, I will install a USB hub connected from behind.