However, if you have any problems with tape backup, you'll probably be interested to know that there are several alternatives to tape.
Backup to NAS devices
NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices are attached directly to your network and can act as a backup store. Obviously, it's very convenient to backup files to NAS, as there are no disks or tapes to insert and remove. There are many NAS devices specially designed for small businesses. NAS is an excellent choice for network backup.
Backup to REV drive
In April 2004, Iomega released the REV drive - a new storage device that has greater capacity than tape and is 5 to 8 times faster.
Key features are:
- Backup to REV drive is much faster than tape backup.
- REV drive units are more durable than tape.
- While tape requires regular cleaning, no cleaning is required for REV drive units.
- Backup to REV drive may in fact prove more cost-effective for your business than tape, depending on your backup scheme and other factors.
Otherwise, REV backup is very similar to tape backup in principle.
Final notes
Several reliable backup software solutions exist. Choosing one is simply a case of deciding which is most suitable for your business. As always, invest in quality backup software. Rather than purchasing specialist REV backup software and NAS backup software
, your choice in software should allow backup to numerous devices. You will then be able to change your backup hardware in the future without buying new software.
