ProblemYou want to take care of your backup media so that when you need to use it, it works properly. SolutionThe following are some guidelines to remember when using, handling, and storing the various backup media you use:
DiscussionThe most reliable method of testing your existing backup media to ensure its validity is to perform a test restore of certain files at random points of the backup set. If you have a particularly critical backup, perform full test restores regularly as often as every six months to make sure the media isn't prematurely wearing out. The lifetime ranges of certain media under standard storage conditions are things to consider when storing backup media. The following are good estimates of specific media lifespans:
You should also take into account the life or popularity of a specific media type's playback machine. The media may survive for 100 years, but the technology to play the media may have disappeared in that time. Replacement machines might disappear from stores before you have made the change to a new format. Remember to keep backups refreshed as technology changes. Also consider the following: cheap mass-produced CD-R disks and similar disk media are actually worse than floppies: the quality of the media depends on the dye substrate. There are a lot of studies on this; http://www.mam-a.com is just one company selling archival quality CD-Rs. A lot of photographers use them for backups. See AlsoThe Ontrack Data Protection Guide, at http://www.storagesearch.com/ontartic.html |