2008 has been a huge year for data backup. Budgets are being cut, but the amount of data being backed up keeps growing. New trends like data deduplication make it tough to separate the hype from the facts. We've collected our top 10 backup tips from the past year, organized for your convenience. For more great tips for busy backup professionals, check out our backup tips section, which is constantly being updated.
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Backup vs. archive :
Data backups and archives are two different things. Backup and recovery expert Pierre Dorion discusses the role of backups vs. archives and why you shouldn't mistake one for the other.
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Backups (not so) Anonymous: Backup guru W. Curtis Preston discusses the 12 steps you need to know to gain control of your backup system.
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Three VMware data backup and restore methods: It's pretty safe to say that server virtualization, specifically in the form of VMware, has been a boon to IT folks. In part 1 of this series on VMware data protection, we detail the different approaches of VMware data backup and restore methods, and the pros and cons of each approach.
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The pros and cons of file-level vs. block-level data deduplication: Some data deduplication approaches operate at the file level, while others examine data at a block level. This tip explores advantages and disadvantages of each method.
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Five things backup administrators should know about VMware Consolidated Backup: VMware Consolidated Backup requires some preparation and understanding for backup administrators used to the traditional physical backup solution. Here's what you need to know before you introduce VMware Consolidated Backup into your storage environment.
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The top 10 causes of slow data backups: If your backups start to take longer, examine your system even if the backups are within your normal backup window. Here's a list of 10 things that may be slowing things down.
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The important differences among VTLs: There are many different kinds of virtual tape libraries in the market. Here's how to decide which VTL is best for you.
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Restoring deduped data: Data deduplication is one of the most promising backup technologies today, but problems can occur when restoring deduped data. Here are a few things to watch out for.
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Five signs that you are headed for a backup disaster: In spite of the latest wave of backup technology advances, data backup is still the outsider in terms of enterprise IT. Here are five signs your backups are headed south.
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Do you really need continuous data protection?: Continuous data protection (CDP) represents the future of data backup as companies look to provide near real-time recovery points to enterprise applications. To help companies choose between CDP and near-CDP software, here's a checklist of questions to help you determine if you really need CDP.
Is there a great tip you think is missing from the list? Email the editors at SearchDataBackup.com and let us know.
