Backup - Why you should have 3 Levels of Backup

3 Reasons to Backup

There are different reasons to backup and so there are different types of backup.

1) Data corruption or accidental deletion of records. Someone deletes a record and it doesn't get noticed for a week. This is where you want multiple version of your database. These can exist on the same hard drive as your main current database.

2) Hard drive failure. The drive goes, or someone deletes a file. This is where you want a good backup system, backing up all your data files as well as applications and settings. Idealy you could just plugin a new drive, copy from the backup and be up and running again very quickly.

3) Fire or theft. Someone breaks in an steals your computer and the backup disk. This is where a remote backup would come in handy. You might have to rebuild your computer, finding the disks, and resetting your serial numbers, but at least at the end of the day, you know you have your data files. On a short term basis, your files could be recovered and run on another server, so you can keep your employees productive, by giving them access to their data.

1) Keep Multiple Versions of your Database

FileMaker Server has a built-in backup routine. It is a matter of setting it and forgetting it. It is very reliable and will keep as many copies as you specify going backwards. You can even set it to backup more than once a day.

If you don't have FileMaker Server and are just running a copy of FileMaker Client, it is possible to set up an Automator routine that runs daily to create an archived backup of your files.

2) Local Hard Drive Backup

Adding a removable hard drive to your server for backup is a great way to deal with the potential for hard drive failure. One drive may die, but if you have a full back up on another drive, it is fairly straightforward to get up and running again. Running backup software, such as Apple's Time Machine, can make backup and recovery very straightforward. The backup software will not only backup your current system, but it will make copies of your archived versions as well.

Be sure to get a hard drive large enough to support holding at least a month of backup increments. The first backup is a mirror image of the internal drive. Succeeding backups will just make a record of the changes, since the last backup. Getting a drive that is more than double the size of the internal hard drive will serve you well.

If budgets are tight, a removable flash drive may be substituted for another hard drive, but then you need to narrow the scope of what gets backed up. Time Machine is not optimal for anything less than a full backup, so an Automator script or other approach may be necessary.

3) Offsite Backup

A web-based online backup service such as Mozy.com can be the third and very important step in a full backup routine. There are a number of different services available, such as idrive.com, adrive.com, humyo.com and boxstr.com Most of these services offer free versions with limited storage space, starting at around 2 Gigabytes. Because of bandwidth limitations, it is a good idea to be more selective in what you choose to send to the online backup system. You may want to just focus on your current databases to avoid overloading the system. There is no point trying to send so much data down the line that you computer is constantly in uploading mode.

Configuring Mozy Menu

Setting up a Backup Set of Files and Folders.