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What's Your Backup Plan for Customer Data?

Is it possible for you to wake up and find that your entire customer base is completely gone? Speaking in terms of your customer database, the possibility is very real and also true for employee records, payment history, electronic documents, etc. While just about everyone has experienced the sinking feeling of realizing that an important file has been lost for good, most people and businesses still aren't backing up their primary data even though direct attached storage, network attached storage and tape is affordable and simple to implement.

What is Direct Attached Storage?
Direct access storage is considered a simple type of storage to implement and is perfect for businesses that use one or two servers to share information locally. If you're running a network your server is most likely the prime storage area for all of the computers on the network or possibly you have a small RAID attached. Direct Attached Storage (DAS) is a storage unit that is directly connected to the server, but not accessible by the other computers on the network without express permissions.

Depending on the type of direct attached storage drive you choose, the backup can be set up to occur automatically on a periodic basis. In the event of a hard drive crash, all of your data is still in tact on the direct access storage drive and easily accessible.

Cost of Direct Attached Storage:
The potential cost of loss associated with not having some sort of data backup plan like direct attached storage is obvious - but what about the out of pocket expense? Direct Attached Storage is not as expensive as you might think. Rackmount units are available with a mere 8 drives up to 42 drives, and start well under $10,000.00

Alternatives to Direct Attached Storage?

Network Attached Storage: The next logical alternative to direct attached storage is network attached storage (NAS) where the RAID is not connected to the server itself, but can assess data across an entire network with multiple servers (Gigabit connection). This is beneficial for many companies, the set up and administration of a NAS is not time consuming and can be implemented very quickly.

Tape Backup Drive: Another popular alternative is the tape backup drive, be it stand alone or be within a tape autoloader or in a library. The benefit of tape is that they can be stored at a different location, thus minimizing exposure to natural disaster or theft. A tape backup drive is ideal for many types of businesses that need a record of a document's progress throughout time. The tape library can provide a snapshot of a document, such as a customer contract, as it looked one at any point in its history.

No matter what type of data backup plan you choose, it is most important that you implement something now before you encounter a problem. Companies that provide DAS, NAS or Tape solutions can work with you to assess your business needs and address the most effective solutions, thus preventing any significant down time.

Article Source: http://www.dummiesguideto.com

Author is a writer for Sunstar Company which specializes in direct attached storage and tape back drives. For additional information you can visit www.SunstarCo.com

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