Bad disk. Dead drive. Corrupted file. Deleted file. Software error. Virus. Power surge. Theft. Disaster. Sooner or later, computer failure strikes everyone. Regularly backing up computers is the best defense, and one of the services available at Cornell, EZ-Backup, is being improved.
A fee-based service for departments, EZ-Backup currently backs up over 1,250 computers and servers for departments across campus, as well as Cornell's server "farm" in Rhodes Hall.
"Version 3, which we'll introduce in the next six months, offers many improvements, including a better user interface and enhanced performance," said Paul Zarnowski, EZ-Backup administrator. "We're also adding new volume discount plans."
EZ-Backup uses IBM's ADSTAR Distributed Storage Manager (ADSM), which runs on Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Novell and various other operating systems. Storage is handled by automated tape robots in a highly secure, environmentally controlled location. Access to stored files is password-protected, using a Kerberos-like, two-way authentication process.
"You choose what time to back up, how often, which files to exclude and how many versions of files to store," explained Karen Durfee, EZ-Backup administrator. "It also offers archiving, and you can retrieve files any time, day or night, so recovery from little goofs or major problems can start right away."
"We also use EZ-Backup in nontraditional ways. Moving users to new machines appears almost seamless since we can restore all the personal files from the backup without the users giving up their old computers first," said Charlayne Beavers, operations analyst in the Office of the University Registrar. Additional details about EZ-Backup are available on the web at http://www.cit.cornell.edu/ezbackup/.
Some questions to ask when choosing a backup service: Can it back up only new and changed files since the last backup? Can it back up only selected files, or multiple versions of the same file? Can it run automatically and unattended? How reliable is the storage media? How easy is it to restore files from the backup? Are backups stored in a secure, offsite place? Is the data compressed? What is the total cost?
The "@cornell.edu" column is edited by Beth Goelzer Lyons of CIT. Please send suggestions to citnews@cornell.edu.
| Cornell Chronicle Front Page | | Table of Contents | | Cornell News Service Home Page |