Picking a Backup App
Inside Guide: Making the Most of NAS for Backup
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Most NAS solutions will ship with network discovery and management tools, but not with a backup application. Acronis, McAfee, Nero, Symantec and many other software vendors have excelled for years in the backup space, but the fact remains that, at least in the SOHO and small business markets, the backup tools that accompany Microsoft Windows (Windows Backup) and Mac OS (Time Machine) have grown to cover most backup needs. For example, Windows 7 and 8 even support versioning, allowing users to recover historical file copies rather than only the most current instance. Folder selection, scheduling, and other management tasks couldn’t get much simpler these days.

This isn’t to say that the OS’s tools fulfill all backup necessities. Most notably, Windows Backup and Time Machine will not perform “bare metal” backups. They will save essentially everything except the operating system and application files. This becomes very important when pushing for a fast restore time or trying to recover a notebook in the field. A bare metal backup, or complete “system image,” is a bit-for-bit copy of all data on the source volume that can be stored on the NAS. Simply use a boot disc or flash drive to copy the system image back to a replacement drive, and the user can pick up exactly where he or she left off when the image was created. Compared to having to reload the OS, drivers, and applications on the replacement drive and then perform a restore, the bare metal approach can be incredibly quicker and more convenient.

Third-party backup software can offer bare metal capabilities in addition to advanced restore scenarios and remote management features. The larger the organization, the more important this last point will become. For instance, if a worker from Los Angeles on extended assignment in Chicago hasn’t backed up for two weeks, the remote administrator can force that worker’s notebook to back up to the NAS the next time he logs in. Backup software with management features should also provide at least moderate logging capabilities. Admins may want to keep tabs on when users back up and ensure they are doing so with expected frequency. Such practices can make the difference between an effective workforce and one bogged down in IT glitches.
