Ask yourself the following questions
- How much data do you have? (number of files, total size on disk)
- What is the rate of growth of your data?
- How sensitive is the data?
- How many people need access?
- How fast do you need to access a backup?
Follow the 3-2-1 Rule
- 3 copies of data
- 2 different media
- 1 copy off-site
Be mindful of
- Some setup required
- Possible ongoing costs
- Requires monitoring
- Requires testing
Approaches
Local Only
- Working Computer(s)
- Bulk Storage (NAS, Hard Drives) 3
- DVDs/Tape Offsite 3
Online Only
- Working Computer(s)
- Cloud/Academic 12
- Second Service/Tape
Local-Online Hybrid
- Working Computer(s)
- Bulk Storage (NAS, Hard Drives) 3
- Cloud/Academic 12
Storage Types
- Cloud: Microsoft (OneDrive), Google (Drive), Dropbox/Sync/etc, Amazon (S3)
- Academic Offers: DRAC, Open Data Repos: Borealis, FRDR, Zenodo
- Local: DVDs, Tape, Hard Drive (HDD/SSD), Network Attached Storage (NAS)
