Data storage has always been one of the most conservative areas of enterprise IT. There is little tolerance for risk, and rightly so: Storage is persistent, long-lived, and must be absolutely reliable. Lose a server or network switch and there is the potential for service disruption or transient data corruption, but lose a storage array (and thus the data on it) and there can be serious business consequences.
backup
You Really Can Have a Complete Backup System Up and Running in 10 Minutes!
I recently worked with Druva to produce a series of videos documenting the installation and configuration of InSync. As part of this process, I went through the entire roll out myself using virtual machines and real data. The result was eye-opening: InSync really does install in under 10 minutes!
Local Snapshots in Mac OS X Lion Time Machine: Is It A Good Idea?
Although it is not a full-featured backup application, I heartily endorse Time Machine since its ease-of-use encourages average users to backup their data and enables them to recover lost files in a user-friendly environment. Time Machine local snapshots add another layer of protection for Apple users on the go. As long as they do not rely on local snapshots exclusively for data protection, I call that a win.
W. Curtis Preston Announces More Backup Central Live!
My friend W. Curtis Preston kicked off his Backup Central Live! event series earlier this year, and I was pleased to be able to attend in Santa Clara. Curtis has spent years educating IT pros about data protection, and let me tell you, although I’ve seen him present dozens of times, Curtis was really in his element here. He held the packed room enthralled, and the vendor sponsors I talked to were very pleased about the event!
How To Select a Virtual Server Backup Product?
I have been asked to write an article for TechTarget on the subject of selecting a virtual server backup product. I’d like to request input for this piece, and hope we can work together to produce a useful list of recommendations. Note that this isn’t a buyer’s guide like the DCIG effort: There will be no exhaustive lists of functions and features here. Instead, I’m writing about the options available in a more general sense.
