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Emergency Planning Should Also Include Secure Backing Up of Critical Data Files

Every year, the entire Lab participates in a simulated earthquake emergency drill. When this happens, employees leave their offices and computers behind in the wake of powerful-but-imaginary quake and meet in pre-arranged areas. After attending a recent class in Emergency Team Training, Desktop Support Manager Charlie Verboom focused on what would happen to the computer files most employees depend on - files that can represent years or decades of irreplaceable scientific research.

"I came away a believer that the Lab should be prepared for a serious problem and given what I know about our customers and their use of backups, we are probably not prepared when it comes to protecting important computer data," Verboom said. "In a large-scale disaster scenario, computing equipment could be damaged or destroyed. The only way to protect your investment is to ensure that you have some kind of regularly occuring backup that is stored offsite."

There are several options for having just such a back-up data archive in place.

If you use a central server maintained by CIS (Novell Home directories as an example), your data are safe.

If you have a backup agreement for your UNIX workstation or server, your data are saved offsite.

Likewise, if you use Macdumps for Macintoshes or the Connected Corp. backup service for PCs, your files are copied and stored offsite.

If you don't currently have any backup system, you can arrange such a service, or call the Computer Support Help Desk at X4357.

The Lab's Computing Infrastructure Support Department is reviewing backup strategies and the associated costs. It's like that economies of scale and new technology will lower the costs. Watch Computing News for more information about backups.