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Advice on Client PC / Laptop Backups
Posted on 2013-01-02
Hi All - Happy New Year.
I just wanted to ask what everyone uses or configurations to ensure each users computer is backed up.
We have the latest version of Backup Exec, 12tb NAS Server and a tape drive.
What Im wondering is if anyone uses other tools to backup PC's to a server, and then run Backup Exec to another location?
What methods do you guys use?
I just wanted to ask what everyone uses or configurations to ensure each users computer is backed up.
We have the latest version of Backup Exec, 12tb NAS Server and a tape drive.
What Im wondering is if anyone uses other tools to backup PC's to a server, and then run Backup Exec to another location?
What methods do you guys use?
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6 Comments
we use roaming profiles therefore all work is on the server by default or at least replicated when the user logs off
The server is backed up via backup exec to tape and NAS
The server is backed up via backup exec to tape and NAS
Active 1 day ago
Use BE's DLO to backup client's/user's data to a server's location. If you have enough room on your tapes, make a backup of this location on tape too.
When BE is available (such as your scenario) this is the preferred method.
When BE is available (such as your scenario) this is the preferred method.
Active today
Why would you backup PCs? Don't you have the network setup so that if a PC fails, a user can just log in to another workstation and work? Folder Redirection! You might have a special case or two - like Quickbooks or maybe a line of business PC (like a title generator or a CNC machine) but other than that, the PCs should be unimportant.
If you want to back them up, I'd suggest getting a Windows Home Server or Windows Storage Server Essentials and connect them to that for workstation backups. Automated with Data Deduplication features. Cost is relatively little. And if you have more than 10/25 (Home Server/Storage Server), then you can simply get multiple systems to cover incremental increases.
(I wouldn't recommend Roaming Profiles - dangerous especially if users log in to more than one machine at a time plus they can fill up the disk of the workstation if you have many people logging in AND they can take a very long time to log on and log off).
If you want to back them up, I'd suggest getting a Windows Home Server or Windows Storage Server Essentials and connect them to that for workstation backups. Automated with Data Deduplication features. Cost is relatively little. And if you have more than 10/25 (Home Server/Storage Server), then you can simply get multiple systems to cover incremental increases.
(I wouldn't recommend Roaming Profiles - dangerous especially if users log in to more than one machine at a time plus they can fill up the disk of the workstation if you have many people logging in AND they can take a very long time to log on and log off).
Active 1 day ago
Where I administer, we indeed have the rare case that the client pcs are that important. We have programmers, software developers, CAD designers, people running mathematical simulators - in total: all very, very fat clients. That's the only situation where I would ever consider backing up clients: if reinstalling those and reconfiguring is consuming a lot of time and cannot be automated that easy. So please respect Leew's advice, he's right.
What we take to (image-)backup our clients' c: drives (data is at the server, c: is just full of installed software) is drive snapshot ("DS"). DS is a simple, command line drive, easy to automate (via task scheduler) cheap and reliable imaging software. We could have used windows' internal backup, but the compression it uses did not meet what we needed to save space/bandwidth.
What we take to (image-)backup our clients' c: drives (data is at the server, c: is just full of installed software) is drive snapshot ("DS"). DS is a simple, command line drive, easy to automate (via task scheduler) cheap and reliable imaging software. We could have used windows' internal backup, but the compression it uses did not meet what we needed to save space/bandwidth.
I personally use Acronis
Never had any issued
using Universal Restore you can even deploy image of one computer to any other computer with totally different hardware specifications
Various features like scheduled tasks and mounting images etc are available
Never had any issued
using Universal Restore you can even deploy image of one computer to any other computer with totally different hardware specifications
Various features like scheduled tasks and mounting images etc are available
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