An IT Professional’s Guide To Backing Up Your Data

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Photo by Aleksandrs Karevs on Unsplash
Photo by Aleksandrs Karevs on Unsplash

So many people still don’t do this!

As an IT professional, I take a strong stance when it comes to backing up data. I’ve seen so many cases of laptops, SD Cards, hard drives and even cloud storage solutions fail people.

I’ve talked a lot about the importance of backing up over the years, but I keep seeing people lose data. From precious memories to documents and projects, if not backed up, it can be extremely easy to lose.

On top of that, experience has taught me that making a single backup copy of your data on a separate storage device is asking for trouble, and nothing proves this better than a recent experience I had.

I was looking for files from a project I was working on a few years ago. The main backup copy of this project was stored on a portable hard drive. I plugged the hard drive into my MacBook and nothing, I changed the USB cable and nothing, I even plugged the hard drive into my Windows PC. However, the hard drive was still not showing any signs of life.

Luckily, I had the project backed up in 3 separate locations including a second portable hard drive and the cloud, and I was easily able to access the files again.

That is why I seriously recommend using the 3-2-1 backup rule, and in this article I will explain why…

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule

The 3-2-1 Backup Rule states that you should always keep three copies of your data, including a working copy and two backup copies on two different types of media, one of which should be kept off-site for disaster recovery.

I know that it can be considered an overkill, but in some cases, I like to keep three backup copies or more depending on what the data is.

In my case, I primarily store data on my MacBook, this is my main working copy. That data is then backed up onto my NAS, which is then backed up to the cloud.

Furthermore, I sync my MacBook with iCloud, which not only allows me to access my data from my iPhone and iPad, but also acts as a separate backup solution.

As an IT professional, I’ve seen it all, from accidental damage, to device failures and even theft, these things happen more often than people realise.

In order to explain why the 3-2-1 rule works, I wanted to explain the problems associated with some of the most common types of devices.

The Problem with Flash Drives

Based on what I’ve seen over the years, the most common types of backup I’ve seen people make is a single backup onto a USB Flash Drive.

In all fairness, it’s better than no backup at all, and a high quality flash drive will typically last for years. I’ve seen some flash drives survive washing machines and some stop working after a few months of use.

The main concern I have with flash drives is that in many cases they are cheaply made, which can result in them not lasting long.

USB flash drives can be fragile and can be easily damaged. I can’t count the number of times people have asked me to recover data from a snapped flash drive. Even I managed to snap a flash drive when forgetting it was connected to my desktop computer under my desk. Hey, these things happen!

On top of that, they are small and easy to lose, misplace or steal. This makes them considerably more vulnerable, compared to other solutions.

USB flash drives can also be extremely slow, but that depends on the flash drive.

If you ever take this approach, I recommend buying from reputable brands such as SanDisk and Samsung (Not sponsored). I also don’t recommend going with their cheapest models.

The Problem with Portable Hard Drives

Like with flash drives, I’ve seen many portable hard drives fail over the years, which justifies the need of making multiple backup copies.

Unlike USB flash drives, hard drives can be considerably pricier, but they usually hold more storage than basic flash drives.

A hard drive has a physical spinning disk inside and a handle that reads the data. I like to compare it to a record player.

However, you can also buy Solid-State Drives (SSD’s) which are considerably faster as they don’t have a spinning disk inside, they are effectively a chip.

Like with flash drives, portable hard drives can be lost, stolen or misplaced, but as the device is bigger, I would say that there is a smaller chance of that happening.

Standard portable hard drives have moving mechanical parts, which if dropped or knocked can lead to drive failure.

Like with USB flash drives, abruptly disconnecting the drive during data transfer or when experiencing a power surge can corrupt data, making it unreadable.

Over time, both SSDs and hard drives can develop bad sectors, which can lead to data loss, slow performance and even drive failure. Bad sectors are small clusters of storage space that doesn’t respond to read or write requests.

The Problem with Cloud Storage

There are various types of cloud storage solutions out there, starting with services like iCloud, Google Drive OneDrive and Dropbox.

The second type of solution I wanted to talk about is the professional cloud backup solutions such as IDrive, Backblaze, Acronis Cloud Backup or Livedrive. These aren’t as well known as iCloud and Google Drive, but they provide excellent solutions for backing up your data.

Cloud storage solutions tend to have more resilience as they store your data in multiple locations. However, it’s important to remember that if a file becomes corrupt or if you accidentally delete it, you may not be able to retrieve it at a later date. But that depends on the solution you use.

One of the biggest disadvantages of cloud storage is that it requires you to be connected to the internet. However, some providers will allow you to access files offline.

There is also security and privacy, you are effectively storing data on someone else’s computer, yes that computer, but at a professional level.

Cloud storage providers are attractive targets for hackers, despite strong security measures, breaches can still occur. However, I think it’s fair to say that these breaches mainly tend to happen as a result of weak user passwords and by not enabling 2-factor authentication.

If you use a professional backup solution, the recovery time of your data may be slow, especially if compared to the speed of a hard drive or even better, an SSD.

Now that we have the problems out of the way…

I wanted to start with the problems of these backup solutions for a reason. That reason was to prove that there isn’t an ideal backup solution, and that you should be making multiple backups of your important data.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind that each one of the solutions I mentioned above is considerably better than not having a backup solution.

Yes, devices can fail or get lost or stolen, but that is why you have two backup copies, one of which should be off site (Cloud storage solutions work great for this).

You can never go wrong with the cloud, as it tends to be far more robust than using flash drives or portable hard drives.

Now that we have the problems out of the way, I wanted to provide you with a few solutions that follow the 3-2-1 backup rule…

1. The Basic Solution

This is a very basic solution that I recommend to everyone, particularly if you are a student.

That solution is to back up everything to a portable hard drive and the cloud, with your primary copy being on your laptop, phone, or tablet.

If you want to add an extra layer of protection, you can do what I do, and have your production files in one cloud solution such as iCloud. Then back up your files to either a professional backup cloud solution or a different cloud provider such as OneDrive.

2. The Cloud Backup Solution

The second solution is to use a professional cloud backup provider such as IDrive or Livedrive. These are purpose-built for backing up the data on your devices. But I don’t recommend using them alone.

I recommend keeping your production data on your device and allow the cloud backup solution to back up your files. I also recommend making manual backups to an external hard drive.

3. The NAS Solution

If you have a bit more money to spend on a professional backup solution, I recommend investing in a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution such as a Synology NAS.

NAS systems are ideal for home users as they offer a centralised storage solution that allows multiple devices to back up data easily. Some models can hold more than one hard drive to provide data redundancy through RAID configurations, ensuring your files are safe, even when one drive fails.

With the help of some NAS systems, you can do some clever things like backup your data to a secure location in a friend’s house, or you can set it to automatically back up to the cloud.

Final Thoughts

Today’s blog post is slightly different, but I wanted to write it in response to a question I had about backups. It also gave me the opportunity to try something new.

What backup solution do you use? Let us know in the comments!