Workstations store and process some information locally. It is important to ensure all your workstations back up important files. Some organizations overlook workstation backups. This results in data loss when problems arise. Often, locally stored data are an integral piece of organizational data. For example, software developers often copy programs to their local workstations to make changes. It is not unusual for developers to have several dozen programs on their local workstations. When they finish making program changes and testing the changes, they copy their work back to a central repository. What happens if a software developer encounters a problem that results in losing one or more local programs? He or she will lose all the work invested in program changes unless frequent backups for Workstation Domain computers keep current secondary copies of work in progress.

Even if members of your organization do not copy files from a central source to edit locally, backups will protect your workstations from loss. Nearly every workstation user stores local documents, spreadsheets, presentations, custom settings, and other data that would take time to reconstruct. At the very least, backing up workstations will save time if a user loses data.

Starting with Windows 8, Microsoft has expanded the options available for maintaining secondary copies of files. The current main backup solution for Microsoft workstations is File History. The File History feature allows users to identify personal files and designate a location to where they will be automatically backed up. Microsoft maintains versions of backed up files and makes it easy to restore one or more files on demand. By default, File History backs up files in your user’s home folder. Those are most likely to be the files that frequently change and need protection. You can change the backup settings to protect more or fewer files and folders. FIGURE 8-2 shows the File History Backup Options window.

Restoring files to previous versions is easy, too. You can browse through all backed-up file versions as shown in FIGURE 8-3, or look at versions of specific files from the File Explorer context (right-click) menu. FIGURE 8-4 shows the previous versions for a specific file that are available. You can restore any file that has been backed up to any previous version.

For more specific control over what is backed up and when, Microsoft also includes an updated version of the legacy Backup and Restore utility with Windows. Now called the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) utility, it has been upgraded from its Vista predecessor to make backing up and restoring workstations simpler. The Windows Backup and Restore Wizard asks you to provide answers to three main questions to configure your backup scope and schedule. FIGURE 8-5 shows the Windows Backup and Restore utility in action.

Provide three types of information to describe your backup process. Follow the Backup and Restore Wizard prompts to enter:

• Where Windows will store the backup—Select a local hard disk, removable media, or network resources. The wizard will display a list of all valid known backup locations.

• What to back up—Let Windows select the most important files and folders to back up or select which files and folders to include.

  • If Windows selects the files to back up, it will choose data files that are saved in libraries, on the desktop, and in default Windows folders for all user accounts on the computer.

  • If the drive you are saving the backup on is formatted using NTFS and has enough disk space, Backup and Restore (Windows 7) will also include a system image of programs, windows, and all drivers and Registry settings in the backup.

  • When to back up—Select the frequency and time Windows will start the backup. FIGURE 8-6 shows the options Windows provides to schedule a backup.

That’s it—Windows does the rest. Once the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) utility is set up, it creates a backup according to the defined schedule. Of course, you have to ensure that your computer is turned on when your scheduled backup should run. If your computer is turned off, the backup will run at the next scheduled time. You can also back up your selected files at any time by choosing the Back Up Now button and change any settings by selecting the Change Settings link.

Although it’s likely that some of your organization’s data are stored and processed on workstations, the majority of data probably reside on servers. Server computers provide many services within an organization, including storing large volumes of data. Servers exist to provide software and data-dependent services to an organization’s users. To put things into perspective, TABLE 8-2 lists just a few common types of servers and the types of data they store and process.

There are many more types of servers that store many different types of data. You can begin to see how many organizations depend on servers and server data. The loss of one server can cause a significant interruption to normal operations. For example, consider the impact of losing an email server. How much of a problem would it be if an organization lost all of its email messages? A good backup and restore strategy becomes increasingly important when considering the impact of losing even a little data. It is crucial to back up each server frequently and manage the backup images efficiently. Make sure your plan includes methods to easily and quickly retrieve the backup images on demand.

Microsoft provides a utility for backing up Windows servers. All Windows Server versions, except for the Core Server installation, include the Windows Server Backup utility. Before the backup utility can be used, it has to be installed on each server that you want to back up. Once the utility is installed, it can be configured to create flexible backups according to your organization’s needs.

Once you have installed the Windows Server Backup utility, you can schedule and create backups for your servers. Since Windows servers perform different functions, they often have different backup needs. The Microsoft Windows Server Backup utility addresses many different server backup needs and takes more effort to configure than a simple workstation backup (FIGURE 8-7). The basic steps are similar to setting up a workstation backup—but more options are available.

You provide three types of information to describe your backup process. Follow the Backup Wizard prompts to enter:

• What to back up—Back up an entire server or select which files and folders to include. Microsoft recommends backing up entire servers in most cases.

• When to back up—Select the frequency and time Windows will begin the backup process.

• Where Windows will store the backup—Select a disk dedicated for backup images, a volume with other files on it, or a shared network folder.

Once you set up your server backups, Windows handles copying the files and folders you identified to another disk. If you want to copy your backups to removable tape drives, you will have to do that manually. The Windows Server Backup does not support backing up directly to tape drives. You will have to create a scheduled job to copy the backup files from the Server Backup destination to your tape drive.

Most backup utilities provide the ability to back up files and folders to a network shared folder or device. This approach has both advantages and disadvantages. Be sure to evaluate the impact to your system before selecting network destinations for any new backup operations. Adding new backups to network destinations without assessing the impact of additional network traffic can seriously degrade your network performance. It can even make your network unusable. Remember that you are establishing backups as controls to support the availability principle, not violate it.

Backing up files and folders to network destinations provides two main benefits:

1. Files and folders are copied to another computer or device. Copying data to another computer or device protects the backed-up data from damage to the primary computer or storage device. In the past, network backups implied that the backup location was physically separate from the source. In today’s environments where virtual machines and cloud computing resources are more common, don’t assume backing up to a network destination ensures physical separation. The networked destination may be another virtual device on the same physical server.

2. Local disk space is not used to create backups. The backup process consumes disk space on the destination device and makes it easier to separate disk usage impact from live servers.

Backing up files and folders to network destinations has drawbacks:

1. Backups consume network resources. Backups across a network, just like all network applications, send messages to the remote destination. Backups send a lot of messages across your network. If all of the bandwidth on the network segment between the backup source and backup destination is used, you will experience slower service during the backup. If you do not have sufficient bandwidth to handle the extra traffic, your network services may experience extreme slowdowns, timeouts, and may even crash.

2. Backups across networks will be slower than backups using local disks. The degree to which network backups run more slowly depends on available network bandwidth. Available network bandwidth depends on the speed of your network and what other applications are using your network. It is a good idea to use only backups to network folders connected using fast network segments.

3. Backups to networked shared folders may time out and fail more frequently than local resources. Closely monitor your backup status to detect failed backups. Remember that a failed backup means your data are not protected from loss.

Networked shared folders can provide convenient destinations for both workstation and server backups. Before setting up networked backups, ensure your network can handle them. Monitor network activity to detect any bandwidth problems before they become critical. As you modify scheduled backups, try to stagger backups to avoid saturating your network with multiple backups running simultaneously.

Backing up data across the Internet to remote cloud servers is another backup option that is very popular in some environments. Data backed up to the cloud are physically separate from your local computer. It provides a high level of protection from any damage to local data. By far, the biggest restriction for cloud backups is the lack of bandwidth. Even the fastest Internet connection has limited available bandwidth. The Internet’s architecture virtually guarantees there will be several segments between your computer and any destination, and many other users are sharing the bandwidth with you.

Your data’s confidentiality is a valid concern. Sending data across the Internet exposes this information to the outside world. Anyone with a network sniffer between you and the backup destination can intercept your data. Never use an Internet backup product unless using strong connection encryption. This will ensure your data are safe during the transfer process. In addition to confidentiality concerns during transit, carefully consider how the data will be handled by the cloud service provider. If you are paying another company to handle your backup data on its servers, how secure are its servers? Make sure any organization that stores your data has an aggressive security policy.

TABLE 8-4 lists a few of the products that specialize in backups across to the cloud.

Historically, the most common use for cloud backup solutions has been for workstation computers and devices. Cloud backups have always been popular for laptop computers that change locations frequently, but these solutions are becoming popular for server backups as well. Computers and devices can be set up to perform backups at specific times or to continually back up changed files whenever you are connected to the Internet. Having current backups available in the cloud for mobile devices is a useful additional layer of protection from damage or theft. As overall Internet connection bandwidth increases, cloud backup solutions are becoming more and more common for servers that either don’t change locations or may just be virtual images with no specific location.