Online Backup versus Onsite Backup
It’s not about if you lose data, it’s about when you lose critical data.
Whether it’s through hardware or software failure, user error, theft, the chances are that somewhere down the line critical data will be lost in some way, and therefore, it is imperative that a strategy is implemented for the backing up of important data. To facilitate this, a number of data storage solutions – offsite or onsite – are available.
Onsite data storage devices are located at the same premises where the data is created or located at the same place where data creation or access is done. These devices can be hard drives, network storage devices, tape devices, memory sticks etc. The major risk to these types of backup strategy is that in the case of a complete site failure all your data, both live and backup data, will be lost. For the sake of this discussion the assumption will be made that the backup data will be taken offsite daily either by a staff member or by a service like Metrofile.
With cloud computing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_computing) offerings are becoming more and more available there are various cloud vendors now offering online backups as a service. Online backup is a cloud based service that allows customers to digitally back up files to a secure site/data centre, in essence outsourcing the backup function to a third party.
Let’s compare the two options explained above:
| Onsite Backup | Online Backup | |
| Speed | By using LTO technology or even USB drives the time it takes to complete the backup will be shorter than online backups as network speeds are faster than most broadband connections. | The speed of online backups is limited to the internet connection. When using ADSL it will back up at the highest possible upload speed (normally 512MB). |
| Cost | Cost will depend on the type of storage device used. USB drives are generally the cheapest way of doing backups but also the most unreliable whereby, tape devices are the most reliable but also the most expensive. | Setup cost is low but you will pay your provider a monthly cost for the service. This cost will depend on the amount and type data stored at their data centre.
Support and delivery of media are normally excluded from the monthly cost. |
| Scalability | The amount of data that can be backed up is dependent on the storage size of the media used. If the capacity is reached cost either will be incurred to replace the backup device or exclude data from the backup strategy. | Online backups are virtually infinitely scalable, as there is no initial hardware infrastructure outlay although there will be additional cost for the growth in data size. |
| Management | Either your IT support company or internal IT staff will need to monitor the backups and address problems should they occur on a daily basis. | The management of the backups is the responsibility of the service provider and they will provide feedback via reports. |
| Retention of data | Recovery of data can only start once the right tape has been returned onsite. Once the tape is onsite the time it takes to restore depends on the device used. | The amount of time it takes to restore a small amount of data is relatively quick and is dependent on the internet connection. In the case of a complete server failure, data will need to be retrieved manually from the service provider onto media and physically taken onsite as the online restore period will take too long. |
Now that we have looked at a few of the benefits of each solution, Space Age recommends making use of a combination of the two through the following strategy:
| Data | Schedule | Retention | |
| Online backups | Application data (e.g. Pastel or ERP data) | Daily | 60 days |
| Onsite backups | Mail data, Company documents, Server system data | Daily,Weekly, Monthly, Annual | Annual |
The reason for the above strategy is that your most critical data should be accessible almost immediately and the ability to restore smaller amounts over the internet connection should be relatively quick, whereas, the other company data that may be less critical and can be restored once the media is onsite.
To compare the cost of online versus onsite backups, I have selected a costing exercise which I have recently done for a client; this should give you a good indication as to what you can expect in terms of pricing.
- Please note that this exercise was to backup ALL data either online or onsite.
- This was for a 20 user company with mail, documents and application data.
- The online backup service provider recommended a server be made available to allow for onsite backups. The maintenance cost to manage this server has been excluded.
| Items | Onsite Backup | Online Backup |
| Setup Cost | ||
| Tape Device (incl. 15 LTO5 tapes) | R 24 000.00 | R - |
| Onsite backup server | R - | R 15 000.00 |
| Backup Software | R 6 000.00 | R - |
| Total | R 30 000.00 | R 15 000.00 |
| Monthly | ||
| Storage Platform | R - | R 600.00 |
| Mirror to Remote site | R - | R 400.00 |
| SBS Plugin | R - | R 250.00 |
| Onsite Server software | R - | R 300.00 |
| Annual Software renewal | R 100.00 | R - |
| Total | R 100.00 | R 1 550.00 |
| Cost after year 1: | R 31 200.00 | R 33 600.00 |
As may be seen, the cost of the online solution starts to exceed that of the onsite option after approximately 11 to 12 months. Assuming you will maintain the same onsite solution for 2 to 3 years, at this stage the onsite solution remains the more cost-effective over a 3 year period. As storage costs drop, it is very likely that the cost of the online solution will also reduce – so a periodic re-evaluation of the options is the best policy.
An assessment of the costs versus benefits, of a range of data storage solutions, should be undertaken in relation to the value of your data and documents. However, it is highly recommended for the safety and security of data that there are elements of both online and onsite storage involved in your backup plan.
If you would like any further information on this matter you are welcome to contact me via email: clifford@sat.co.za
One Comment to “Online Backup versus Onsite Backup”
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Very true – it is imperative that a business’ data and information are backed up. Without a backup security system in place, the business risks data exposure and harm to itself, its partners, and its clients.