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How is LifeLine•DVD different from traditional backup methods?
LifeLine•DVD was designed from the ground up as a backup solution for small business networks. It is not a scaled-up personal backup program or a scaled-down enterprise backup system. Many of what are considered “standard” backup features are not visible in LifeLine•DVD, because they are not suited to the advanced concepts employed by LifeLine•DVD. We call LifeLine•DVD an Intelligent Backup Appliance because of these advanced capabilities. LifeLine•DVD implements industry best backup practices without the complexity found in other backup products.
Why DVDs? (And why not tapes?)
The DVDs you use are inexpensive, write-once, optical media. With inexpensive DVDs there is no reason to go to all the trouble of using rewriteable media.
Because tapes are expensive they are reused. This means keeping track of what files are on which tapes, labeling and relabeling tapes, moving tapes on and off site, counting the number of times until the tape should be retired, and lead time for ordering replacement tapes..
Tapes have other serious drawbacks. There have been at least 50 different tape formats, with new formats
announced as others disappear. The hardware to read older tapes is almost impossible to find. Tapes are fragile. Tapes require winding and rewinding. Tape drives can go out of alignment or a replacement drive may not be able to read old tapes.
I've heard of full, differential, and incremental backups and media rotation. Do I need to understand these terms to use LifeLine•DVD?
The evolution of various combinations of full, differential, and incremental backup strategies are a direct consequence of having to reuse expensive tape media. You don't want to back up too much too often, or you will use too many tapes. But backing up too little or too seldom risks data loss, and can make restoring data a laborious process. With tape backup products some tapes need to be rotated offsite on a daily or weekly basis, while others need to be brought onsite and reused. After a certain number of uses, the tape must be retired. Newer backup methods that use external hard drives or Internet-based storage have similar problems.
In contrast, LifeLine•DVD has one simple backup rule: scan the network… if a file is new or has changed, back it up.
The first time LifeLine•DVD scans a computer everything will be new to it, so it all gets backed up. On subsequent scans, every changed or new file will be backed up.
What does the LifeLine•DVD database do?
LifeLine•DVD’s database contains a record of every file that it backs up. This, along with the use of write-once media, enables you to restore any version of any file that has been backed up since the installation of LifeLine•DVD. The database enables other useful capabilities as well, for example whenever there are (or ever have been) files with identical content, only one copy of the data needs to be saved. Most important, the user never has to know where a file is in order to restore it. One need only select the file (or version) to be restored and LifeLine•DVD will either restore it directly from its hard drive or tell the user which DVD to load. (And, as you would expect, LifeLine•DVD backs up its own database.)
How do I remember to backup?
In big companies, with big budgets and IT departments, there are people whose job it is to back up all the company data. Therefore, it gets done. At small businesses and professional offices, it’s not so simple.
LifeLine•DVD was designed to run independently and not rely on anyone remembering to do anything. LifeLine•DVD continuously scans the network and backs up anything that is new or has changed. The only intervention required is to label and insert a blank DVD as requested. The administrator is informed by e-mail as well as by instructions on the user interface screen when a DVD is required and exactly what to write on it. He is even told which ones to take offsite and which ones to leave onsite. And since LifeLine•DVD can hold ten DVDs of information on its hard drive, it keeps on backing up even when waiting for the operator to insert a DVD.
Oh, by the way, there is nothing to install on the servers or workstations. Just plug LifeLine•DVD into power and into the network, set it up (about fifteen minutes), and backup happens.
How do I control security?
We've taken care of the hard stuff for you. LifeLine•DVD is pass phrase protected. All data backed up by LifeLine•DVD is encrypted and can only be accessed by your LifeLife•DVD. We've even implemented physical security features on the box itself. LifeLine•DVD can be managed remotely over the Internet, but user data cannot be seen or sent over the Internet.
Do I have to perform regular restore drills as recommended for other backup strategies?
It is strongly recommended that you test any backup strategy on a periodic basis. However, LifeLine•DVD tests every file that it backs up to make absolutely sure the information is correct and can be restored. Two copies are made of every permanent DVD, one to remain onsite and one to be placed in a safe offsite location. Every DVD is verified in two different ways to make absolutely sure that there are no data errors. If a DVD disc is lost or damaged, a replacement disc can be created.
What happens if a LifeLine•DVD is damaged, or if a disaster destroys my network, my LifeLine•DVD, and my onsite backups?
We've thought of that, too. Your offsite DVD discs can be read by a replacement LifeLine•DVD when it is initialized with one of the Key Discs that are written during the LifeLine•DVD initial setup. Obviously, you want to make sure your Key Discs are kept in two different and secure locations, because they really are the key to your data.
What preferences can I set with LifeLine•DVD?
Because LifeLine•DVD automates most of the backup process, you don't have to be concerned with the complicated and confusing settings that are required by other backup products.
LifeLine•DVD gives the administrator flexible yet easy-to-use control over backup settings. For example, you can tell LifeLine•DVD to back up every file visible on the network on a built-in schedule. Or, you can choose specific computers, folders, or even files to back up. Selections are made from a familiar Windows file tree interface that is accessible from Internet Explorer.
How do I restore data with LifeLine•DVD?
The true measure of any backup system is how reliably and easily it can restore data. LifeLine•DVD’s reliability is a direct result of its automated operation and the security and redundancy built into its backups.
Restore options include the ability to restore the most recent version of any file or folder. And, because of its database and the use of write-once media, it has several unique restore capabilities. For example, you can restore any folder as it existed at any given date and time since LifeLine•DVD has been in operation. You can select any past version, or several versions of a given file to be restored at once, each one automatically renamed to include the date and time of its backup in the restored filename.
Each of these restore selections are made from a Windows tree interface, and LifeLine•DVD will restore them directly from its hard drive or tell the user which DVD to load.
What reporting capabilities does LifeLine•DVD have?
Reports are generated daily and e-mailed to the administrator. Reports are also available in real time through the user interface. These reports include summary and detail backup information, the event log, and an error report that shows any file that could not be backed up and the reason why. These reports can be critical components in an ISO 9000 or regulatory compliance plan.
Can anything go wrong?
Of course no solution is foolproof. If you should lose both the onsite and offsite copies of a backup DVD, you’ll lose data. (But if you lose or damage one, you can copy the one you have left.) If LifeLine•DVD is powered down, and you forget to turn it back on, it won’t be backing up much. So it’s a good idea to check on it from time to time (or your administrator may notice that the daily report hasn’t arrived). But all-in-all, if you have a small or medium sized network and are concerned about data backup, LifeLine•DVD is the way to go.
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