Invariably the need for reliable and consistent data backups crops up, usually after some type of data loss disaster dues to either a hard drive crash or a nasty virus.

There are a limited number of options for tape backup solutions. There are only two major software solutions, Veritas, formerly Seagate Backup Exec and Brightstor, formerly Arcserve. The hardware solutions are DAT tape, DLT Tape and Firewire Hard Drives. We have also used some data recovery software for deleted data such as Scavenger 2.0

Now RAID is a solution for catastrophic hardware failure, but it does little for accidental deletions and viruses. RAID simply mirrors those onto the redundant drive(s).

Despite hype to the contrary, we have not found a quick and easy method for restoring the Operating System (O/S) and Application Software. Usually we end up rebuilding the O/S, then restoring the data from backups.

Lately, we have become believers in the Firewire hardware solutions. This is essentially a hard drive connected externally via a fiber optic cable. The speed of this media, at 1GB in two minutes, leaves those cumbersome tape drives in the dust.