I haven't heard a good argument against the "backup to a server" idea yet.
1. "Confidentiality Risk" Forget it. First, you would upload your data in an encrypted format, like every other on-line transaction. Second, if it's *THAT* confidential, upload the other 99% of your drive and leave it on a floppy in your desk. Believe it or not, your bank account, credit, health, and tax information is out there on servers everywhere as it is, and to think otherwise is naive.
2 "How would I recover from a crash!" sigh* Freaking keep two floppy disks with your boot files and the server access file, and you're home free. Nobody said this idea was going to eliminate the need for floppy disks! (only Zip drives <g>)
3. "Would I need to prop the Intel server next to mine....." Welcome to AOL Newbie Land, land of the "tangible back up" mindset. Why not just print out a hard copy of every file on your hard drive each night?
Bottom line is, it's a lot simpler, a lot cheaper, a lot more space, and a lot more reliable than a tape, and I suspect you'll see IOM offer the same service eventually. Oh, it's also a lot easier and cheaper to install a backup software package on a new PC, than a tape drive. Now...which looks like the future? |
