On 2/21/06, Gerard Nicol <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> With all due respect, this is the worst advice I have read for a while on
> this list.


Guess you don't read all of the posts =)

(1) If you give your tapes to someone in the same industry chances are they
> are your competitor, and in your hour of need, they may not help you out
> (I
> know I would not if you were my competitor and you were silly enough to
> give me your tapes).


If you noticed the industry the individual who asked the question originally
was in, you might feel differently about the advice provided.  Utilities
typically don't see their industry partners as competitors... and as pointed
out by Bill R., generally, in the case of a serious event, they might be the
first ones you'd go to anyway.  Same industry doesn't always mean
competitor... it can mean compatriot.

Don't be so stingy; pay a professional to do it.


Not necessarily a case of being "stingy", sometimes it can be by design.  If
you have sufficient physical separation and can offer each other adequate
support for the storage of backups, it can be a low cost alternative that
easily satisfies your business needs. Depending on the volume and activity
levels, this type of business practice isn't too absurd at all.  Besides,
paying a professional doesn't always guarantee you're adequately protected.

(2) Don't store your tapes in a bank vault, they will be handled by bank
> people who often have their own special bank holidays, and close the doors
> 10 minutes before they officially close to minimize the risk of having to
> do any more work than necessary.


As mentioned by others, you can make special arrangements with a bank to
have off-hours access, but as also mentioned in another post, bank vaults
are risky for other reasons.

(3) Differential backups are just as important as full backups; in the
> event of a bare metal restore you will need both of them, and in the event
> of a selective restore you could need both of them, or the either one of
> them.
>

Many organizations store two copies of differential backups... one on-site
(in an independent location of the primary data center in a rated media
vault) and the other off-site (in the event of a site-wide disaster).  The
on-site copy is generally the "go to" copy for system failures that don't
involve a full restore.

Larry
--
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972

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