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The first thing to do when you perceive that there is trouble in your server , hard disk, or RAID health is to stay calm and not facilitate further loss by pressing all keys and codes. Take a deep breath and decide on whether you are going to do the data protection and recovery yourself or seek the help of specialists. The key to preventing loss of computer data is to create back ups like clockwork.
Data recovery, although possible, hardly ever promises 100% recovery of lost data, here are a few suggestions:
1. Use proven data recovery software and try and retrieve lost files.
2. If you suspect a hardware collapse just pull the plug and call for professional help. Do not try and shut down the system or save any files.
3. Listen to the computer and see if you can detect any abnormal sounds.
4. Connect the faulty disks to another computer and use the disk as a slave to try and recover lost files.
5. Consider investing in data recovery software. Surf the World Wide Web and locate a reliable data recovery and protection service. Be sure to check their credentials.
6. If a drive is damaged do not run defragmenters or volume repair utilities.
7. In case the ruined drive has OS systems on it get recovery systems that have boot functions. Once the files become visible copy them onto disks or external drives.
8. Never dry a wet hard drive with a dryer it will damage the system completely.
9. Clean up the system by deleting unwanted files and software.
10. Install protection systems like firewalls and anti-virus scanners.
As far as possible never drop a drive down. Use only recommended hardware and software. Beware of free downloads. Set up an infallible back up system.
Protect your data against loss by:
1. Conducting weekly backups that are offsite. Remote data back ups minimizes data loss.
2. Use Storage area networks or SANs.
3. Add surge protectors to your computer system . This will protect the delicate equipment.
4. Connect the whole system through an UPS or uninterrupted power supply system.
5. Install anti-virus software and firewalls.
6. Insure your hardware.
7. Follow the rules of safe computer use like never opening attachments from unknown sources and protecting your system from phising by avoiding free downloads and so on.
Take the ultimate step in protecting your data by training all employees if you are a business and if you are an individual then stay abreast of recent trends in computer protection and data recovery.
S2s Ltd is a
that needed to ensure business continuity, even in the event of a server breakdown.
s2s was previously using disk-to-tape to back up all the various systems the business was running on.
Backing up and was not only a very complicated and time-consuming process, it was also very unreliable. When retrieving data
from the tapes, once they had been delivered back to s2s, a lot of the data from the tapes was irretrievable.
SecurStore's online solution automatically transfers data offsite in real-time, eliminating the risk of having backups located onsite in case of a disaster or loss of data during transportation to an offsite location. Data is transmitted and stored offsite in a state of the art data centre on a reliable disk subsystem, which is in turn duplicated and backed up onto a second disk sub-system located apart from the primary disk sub-system.
Due to the nature of the business, s2s runs on a variety of operating systems. Most of its servers are Linux-based and some of them are Mac-based,
because many s2s employees use Apple Macintosh machines. It also has the obligatory Windows applications and operates with a SAN architecture. SecurStore also needed to take into account the fact that most of the s2s servers are virtualised and that s2s already had a NAS (network-attached storage) system in place.
The uses many defense mechanisms, such as strong authentication, data encryption, password protection and client and system side log legitimate users at s2s to perform a when needed.
SecurStore backs up the critical data of s2s (120GB) online on a continual basis, so that from the moment a server goes down, all the data can be quickly retrieved online. The remaining less critical 80GB of data is either backed up to SecurStore's Backup Lifecycle Management (BLM) offline service, or backed up by the outsourced provider.
SecurStore is suitable for businesses that need to protect data from a few gigabytes to terabytes. The service ensures that any data held on PCs, Macintosh computers, file servers and application/database servers is securely backed up. SecurStore supports many platforms including Windows NT/2000/2003/XP along with AS-400 iSeries, Unix and Linux. SecurStore can also protect a wide range of databases including Oracle, SQL, Exchange, Lotus Notes and DB2.