Backup Storage Device

A backup storage device is used to make copies of data that is actively in use. Backup machines provide redundancy of data residing on primary storage. Should the storage medium, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), fail or become corrupted, the original data is recovered from copies on the backup hardware. The use of backup storage is imperative in enterprise environments, where the loss of business data is potentially catastrophic.

Backup Storage Devices For Enterprise Use

A backup storage device refers to a type of disk-based hardware appliance bundled with software for data management and data services. The physical device provides capacity via the internal storage media, while the backup software schedules policies for moving data in a tiered storage environment from primary storage to secondary storage — also known as auxiliary storage or external storage. Backup devices connect to storage using traditional NFS (Network File System) or iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) network protocols.

Remote backup appliances

A remote backup appliance backs up data that sits outside a corporate data center. When selecting an appliance for remote backup, data storage administrators should weigh features for encryption, network connectivity, and management. Data deduplication and compression, which are offered with most remote backup appliances, reduce the amount of data sent across a network.

Virtual server backup is a software-based version of physical backup hardware. This practice involves copying data from a physical machine to a virtual machine (VM) as a safeguard against loss or corruption. The backup application is installed on each VM, pointing backups to a conventional backup storage target appliance.

Integrated data protection hardware is available from certain vendors. An integrated device is a file server equipped with HDDs and the vendor’s proprietary backup software, typically with automated features to help monitor disk capacity, expand storage capacity and manage preconfigured tape libraries.

Cloud backup transmits data copies via a network to a remote location. The backup storage is hosted on servers owned by third-party cloud service providers that charge customers based on licensed consumption of bandwidth, storage capacity or number of users. Increasingly, off-site data backup equates to subscription-based cloud storage as a service, which provides low-cost, scalable capacity and eliminates a customer’s need to purchase and maintain backup hardware.

Cloud-to-cloud backup is an offshoot in which data is copied between multiple public cloud storage platforms. Using cloud-to-cloud backup hastens recovery of mission-critical data, although it also multiplies the chances that storage security could be compromised — at least, in comparison to hard offline backup.

Some enterprises opt to host internal private cloud storage using a proprietary network to back up data to locally managed servers. Others mix private cloud storage with internal private storage to build a hybrid cloud. However it’s deployed, cloud backup storage is cited by experts as a key ingredient in an enterprise disaster recovery strategy.

Backup storage devices for personal computers

On a personal computer, backup storage is commonly achieved with Zip drives and DVDs. A USB drive — also known as a flash drive or keychain drive — is a lightweight plug-and-play portable storage device that uses flash memory storage. The computer’s OS (operating system) recognizes it as a removable drive when it’s inserted into a USB port, upon which it’s assigned a drive letter.

Several cloud backup vendors also offer consumer services. Companies such as Backblaze and Carbonite provide online backup for the home.

Offsite Storage Services (Cloud, FTP, etc.) - accessibility and location

Cloud Storage Services, or FTP Servers, allow users to store files remotely on an offsite location and protect them from viruses, hackers, and disasters. In the early 90’s, FTP was widely used to transfer large files to a remote server. Even today, some businesses use FTP, FTPS or SFTP servers for their offsite backup.

One limitations of FTP is that you need an FTP client (or compatible backup software) to backup or restore files stored on the server. Configuring an FTP server can be a complex and time-consuming process when you need to open additional ports or configure firewall or router to transfer files to/from the server. Because of this, many business users are moving to cloud storage for online data storage.

One of the greatest advantages of using cloud storage is that it provides a convenient way to access data from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. The second biggest advantage is cloud services offer enormous storage space at affordable prices. Therefore, cloud storage reduces the cost and resources of your company. However, the operational cost may increase, or data transfer is throttled if the bandwidth usage exceeds a specified limit provided by the cloud service.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the data backup device you choose depends on the amount of data you need to store, backup speed, cost, security, reliability and availability of data. We recommend keeping both onsite and offsite backups to protect from primary data loss and corruption.

With Disaco, you can backup files to HDD, SSD, SD cards, external drives, NAS drives, FTP servers,s, and numerous Clouds services such as Amazon S3™, Google Storage™, Google Drive™, Google Photos™, Microsoft Azure™, Microsoft OneDrive™, OneDrive for Business (Office 365), SharePoint™ (Office 365), Dropbox™, Box, SugarSync™, OpenStack, Backblaze™ B2, OVH™, Egnyte™, hubiC™, and WebDAV servers.

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