Backup keywords Archiving Backups Procedures by VersionBackup Data Backups Data Loss as a Result of System Disturbance Deletion of Complete Files Deletion or Distortion of Parts of a File as a Result of Manual Operation Differential Backup Full Backup Hardware Defect (Disk or Computer) Incremental Backup Preventative Measures Against Data Loss Reasons for Data Loss Storage Space Requirements from Different Backup Methods System Backups Virus Attack

Creating daily backups on your primary backup media is a good thing. But it is even better to create additional archiving copies from these backups. VersionBackup Master and VersionBackup Server manage even the content of your archive media. This makes it possible using the archive media as easy as the primary backups.

It is a real advantage, if your archive media cannot be permanently accessed, because they must be manually inserted into the drive:

• While the media are lying in the cupboard, it is absolutely sure, that no faulty or malicious code can affect their content.
• You can store the archive media separately from your computers. This provides some protection against fire, theft etc.
• A stack of changeable media has no storage space limit. You can increase the storage capacity again and again without any retrofit or configuration change. You only have to buy some more DVDs or USB drives.

Now, it is additionally possible storing your backups not in your building but on a different site: sending both the primary backups and the backups, which shall be archived, as an Online Backup to your FTP server, which is accessed by the internet.

Your primary backup data carrier can take the daily created backups for some weeks or months. According to your settings, VersionBackup will delete them after this time.

We recommend additional long-term archiving on external data carriers. VersionBackup Master and VersionBackup Server will manage even the content of the external media. Doing a recovery from your long-term archive will be almost as easy as the recovery from the primary backup media.

VersionBackup provides a standardized procedure

• for the archiving process
• for the recovery from the external archive media
• to delete the primary backups when the archiving has been done.

The archived backups will remain available for lots of years. You can assume that none of your important data file will be ever deleted.

It is important that even your external archive media (which means also the FTP server drive) will be maintained by VersionBackup Master or VersionBackup Server. This way, you will keep the overview and can recover even very old data easily.

Example: If you need some files just like they have been two years ago, simply set the display range of the Backup-Browser to this old time range. Then, the Browser will display the directories and files in the old scope. Select the desired files and date and VersionBackup will specify which archive media has to be inserted.

Many files exist in the same state for years. They usually are copied in a lot of Full Backups identically which are stored on different media. VersionBackup displays a list of the media which can be used for the recovery. Often, it is enough to insert one of them. If one backup copy is not readable any more, VersionBackup automatically switches to another copy with same content.

If you will change your computer by a new one, you can easily transfer the information about the external backup archive to the new device. Simply copy the VersionBackup data base files to the new computer. Alternatively, you can scan the external data carriers on the new system.

Possible media types for external archiving:

• USB Drives
• DVDs
• Server Drives

We recommend to use external USB drives or once writable DVDs.

• You should use one or more USB drives only for the VersionBackup archiving, not for other purposes.
• The archiving media should be stored at a safe place, not near the computer (consider the case of fire!)
• The archiving drive should be connected to the computer only when this is necessary.

• Cheap DVDs may have limited shelf life time. But there exist “Archiving DVDs”, which should be readable for lots of decades.
• Their content cannot be modified by simple writing operations. Therefore, malware should not be able to destoy their content even when the disk is in the disk drive.
• The danger that somebody or a system failure will delete the content by accident is low.

Top of Page