Do you need to backup your server but don’t know how?
Synology Active Backup for Business
Good for complete images of Windows desktop laptop/computers, servers, and virtual machines.
Pretty difficult for the novice to use.
Acronis True Image
It also can be found on Synology or there’s a Windows version.
iDrive
Pretty basic and not ideal solution but for basic users, it can be useful in a pinch. We walk through some very simple steps using iDrive backup for Windows. iDrive Backup comes in three forms:
- Windows iDrive cloud or online backup
– Backup up your server data to a cloud storage account - Synology NAS iDrive App
– Backup up your NAS data to a cloud storage account - Windows iDrive local backup
– Using Windows iDrive local backup pointed to network server shares allows for alternative way of backing up a file server or NAS.
For this particular setup, we will break down the Windows iDrive local backup of your server. You will need to download Windows iDrive and install on the user’s computer with full access to data and is hard wired into the network. Select the local shares for backup of your server. Then grab a file count of each network share to confirm all data is being accounted for during backup.
ProTip! – Network performance is best for backup with the least amount of bottle necks are in between the workstation and the file server. Please understand your network topology for strategic placement of your workstation.
P drive total files are 217,098
R drive total files are 126,806
M drive total fires are 13,139
=357,043 total files
Note: This solution does not backup your server home drives. The cloud backup on the NAS if working properly should cover this. There are other ways but we won’t be discussing them here.
You can tally these numbers up every time a manual backup of your server is performed to the external drive. Then compare them with the “iDrive status” if backup completed and view the logs for comparing files backed up.
ProTip! – While manual server backups ensure a backup is successfully completed after viewing the logs, it does have its quirks. The user must remain logged into the profile. Do not log out. You can lock the profile but DO NOT LOG OUT, quit the application or let the computer sleep.
Automated Windows iDrive Backup
Automated allows a scheduled backup each day at a specific time to occur and the computer user does not have to be logged in. Sounds great, right? iDrive has proven so unreliable that I don’t trust this setup. Especially since every new backup completely wipes out the old backup.
Manual backups for Windows iDrive are preferred because you can validate the server backup (file size count comparisons) yourself, send it home, and use another external to rotate with.
The Warm Fuzzy Feelings
Every owner wants that security that all their data is secure and fully backed up. Having more than one method of backup is great. Idrive app on the Synology is ok. It tends to break a lot more the Amazon Glacier and the storage of archiving data is more expensive. Maybe double up on both backup services? We will provide some steps to ensure you have some confidence that you can recover your data when you need it.
Test Your Restore Files – Cloud Backup
Go to www.iDrive.com and select login section to view data for recovery for the cloud backup. Choose a recently updated for ensuring the iDrive has in fact been backing up of late.
ProTip! File versioning does not work on certain browsers. Make sure you try an alternate browser if you are unsuccessful at retrieving another version of your file.
Windows Local Backup – Cloud Backup
Go to the Windows iDrive app and select the files and folders from the computer you completed
How to Backup you Server from a Workstation Summary
No backup is safe from failure. Remember to not only develop a redundant backup process but make sure that process has a variety of platforms performing the backup.
