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Real Time or Continuous Backup Software?
Real Time or Continuous Backup Software?
A friend has asked me the following question. Can any of you help? seacue ---- quoting ---- Is there a backup utility that starts by creating a full partition image on an (external?) drive and then keeps its backups up-to-date by continually backing up files as they are changed? There would be a default list of file types subject to these backups, editable by user. Or maybe an exclusion list of file types NOT to back up. I'd want a user interface that seamlessly integrated the partition images and the later file-level backups. That way, if you needed to restore a file that you had accidentally trashed or had become corrupted, you wouldn't have to think about where you'd find the latest intact version - in the partition image or in later file backups. There would be issues of having multiple file versions, but that's something that authors of file-backup software have found ways of dealing with. Shutting down the PC without disabling continual backups means there is a high probability of interrupting a write operation to the target drive. One should have a scheme to allow shutdown without corrupting the contents of the drive used for the backups. |
Acronis gets the popular vote.
But try googling for "imaging backup software" or "drive image backup software" Then read through the software specs to see if all the requirements are met. SD |
My friend has Acronis, but he says it doesn't do the automatic / continuous backups as files are modified. Maybe he has missed something.
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A better Google?
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That you BOAC, that looks like a good lead.
Anyone else have suggestions? seacue |
Try Mirror Folder
Cheers, :E |
Isn't it called a RAID array? :}
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No, a RAID array doesn't keep earlier versions which are increments from the last major backup. A RAID array is a way of reducing exposure to HD disk failure, but doesn't allow going back to (slightly) earlier versions of files.
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Another vote for MirrorFolder
DeltaCopy - http://www.aboutmyip.com/AboutMyXApp/DeltaCopy.jsp - is a Windows wrapper for rsync - fast and free. :ok: |
There is a commercial product I've worked with, NSI DoubleTake, which is used on servers. After an initial Mirror, it switches to a Replication mode that immediately copies any changes over = near real-time, depending on how fast the network is. You can define filters on what to replicate, and control bandwidth and schedules. However, it's not really "backup", because if there's any damage on the source (e.g. you delete a file)... it replicates the damage too. Unless you limit transmission times, that happens Immediately. :eek:
You don't say what version of Windows your friend has, but if it's Vista, he has the Shadow Copy option built-in. This is a "snapshot" technology adapted from Windows Server 2003, that "copies out" modified data blocks to a new location quickly and transparently. What you get is a friendly "Previous Versions" tab on a directory or file's Properties that lets you roll back changes, which sounds like it fits the bill. However, without going into too much detail about snapshots, note that it copies only the disk blocks that change, not whole files or directories, so it relies on the original drive being up: it's useful, but it's not a full replacement for backup to an external location. What about the standard Windows Backup program? Select the external drive as the target, Advanced mode in the Wizard, set up the schedule you want, and use Incremental mode to back up only changed files. Heck, if your friend wants to get back to basics, use XCOPY /S with /M or /A (using the file Archive bits). :8 |
No, a RAID array doesn't keep earlier versions which are increments from the last major backup. A RAID array is a way of reducing exposure to HD disk failure, but doesn't allow going back to (slightly) earlier versions of files. There would be issues of having multiple file versions, but that's something that authors of file-backup software have found ways of dealing with. :O |
My friend has Windows XP.
The Vista suggestion makes it seem as though there is at least one good thing about the OS. Thank you all for the continuing suggestions. seacue |
Ideally you would use a snapshot-aware NAS - such as a NetApp filer. I remember having a presentation from and discussion with them about 6 years ago, and I was extremely impressed with their concept. From their white paper: Files are composed of blocks, which are linked together to form files. Each block pertaining to a file contains bits of information that are part of the file. File systems keep track of the information stored in blocks. WAFLŪ is write-optimized and always writes new disk blocks to available locations on disk. Pre-existing data blocks are never overwritten. This is true whether a new file is being created or an existing file is being updated. This process minimizes disk drive seeks, which improves performance. Thus preexisting blocks still exist and can be accessed in the form of Snapshot copies until they are deleted. The amount of disk space reserved for such copies is configurable on a per-volume basis. Snapshots are not copies of data, rather Snapshots record the state of the blocks in the file system at a given point in time and provide read-only access to that image of the file system. SD |
"...get back to basics, use XCOPY /S with /M or..."
XXCOPY - http://www.xxcopy.com/index.htm - is far more powerful, has none of XCOPY's inconsistent behaviour and is free for non-commercial use. |
Wait a few more weeks and Microsoft Windows Home Server will be available(the product has just been released to manufacturing) and OEM's will be selling their versions of the servers before the end of the year.
It will do exactly what you asking and as it was designed from the start as a home user product very easy to set up. If it is for business use, then really you need to invest in Windows Server 2003 and a decent backup system (hardware & software)! Also here is a video on Home server being demonstrated. |
Thank you all for the continued suggestions.
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