What kind of plan needs to be used in a work setting to safely protect your data from hardware failure and viruses? It is a similar process to a home backup but on a much bigger scale. Many of the same methods are used but a greater storage capacity is usually needed.
In our school setting, all user accounts are stored on a server. Even teachers and staff who use laptops have their documents synchronized to a server. So, in most cases, the servers are the main thing to backup. These servers will host things like e-mail, blogs, calendars, library catalogs, and student information systems, as well as all teacher and student files.
For both Mac and Windows servers there are some solutions for backup software. EMC Software's Retrospect is a good piece of software that has both Mac and Windows clients. This software is installed on one machine and other machines on the network have client software installed. The main installation connects to the clients and backs up the desired data. It will backup SQL databases and e-mail (Exchange) servers. Usually, this server is connected to a tape drive, a packet drive, or other storage device.
Like a home user, some of this data might need to be backed up outside the building. Student information and financial data can be backed up to a DVD on a weekly basis and stored in a vault or somewhere else off site.
A third option would be to backup the data using online methods. Again Mozy's business version, Mozy Pro, would work. The software is priced based on the number of servers and storage space required.
This method requires more work by the administrator. Not only does one need to check on the status of the backups, but they need to make sure each server is connecting to the main server properly, and they probably also need to change tapes in the backup drive.
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