Remote Backup Service details

Illuminova’s Remote Backup Service provides for the complete recovery of your business’ data assets in the event of a partial or total equipment failure.  It is the only form of insurance you can buy for your corporate data assets.

The principal benefits are:

 ·        Less Worry – the vulnerability of your organization to data loss is virtually eliminated.

·        Higher Staff Productivity –the tedious tasks of creating and maintaining backup sets are ours, making more effective use of employee time.

·        Business Continuity and disaster contingency – our service’s recovery capabilities help your company to continue in spite of unforeseen disasters.

·        Reduced Backup Windows – back up times are dramatically reduced through advanced software compression and encryption that reduces data transfers by fifty to eighty percent.

·        Better Restore Capabilities – recovery times for accidentally deleted files and disabled systems are significantly reduced, making your end users more productive.  The easy-to-use, self-serve restore functions permit immediate recovery of lost files saving you time, money, and aggravation.

 Installation and Setup

The initial backup is often done on-site, under Illuminova’s Support Agreement.  The initial backup is likely to take several hours more, depending on the volume of data.  (We have backup set larger than 1000 GB in size.)  Once the initial backup is completed, the files will be returned to our data center and the remote service will be enabled.  Regular backups will then take place over the Internet.

If files are distributed across several machines on your LAN, we designate a central system that provides access to the distributed directories.  Client software for the Illuminova remote backup service will be installed on this central system.

Service Features and Benefits 

Illuminova’s remote backup software works like regular data backup software but with one important difference — instead of sending backups to a tape drive, Illuminova’s online backup software sends the backup over the Internet to our secure data center.  We do this (usually) at night while your systems and networks are not being used.  Backups can also be done on-demand, at any time.

Our online backup system accomplishes several essential steps that are often overlooked or done improperly by other backup software - especially in regular non-automated backup systems.

Online Backups are done on schedule, reliably.  Most businesses don’t have reliable backups.  For one reason or another backups may fail, tapes are mangled, deteriorate, mislabeled or mislaid.  Since remote backups are done with automated software, backups are always done on schedule.  Data is never lost.

The correct files are always backed up.  Ordinary backup software is often installed with a checklist of files to be backed up.  This set of files usually represents the state of the system when the software was installed, and often misses critical files as new directories and files are added.  Very few businesses take the trouble to reset their backup software regularly to include new files and folders.

Our online backup software solves this problem by constantly reevaluating the computer system, adding files to the backup as needed.  Also, several full copies of files are stored using a sophisticated version control system unavailable in most other backup utilities.

The general definition of a "proper" backup implies redundancy.  We keep multiple copies of the same file at different points in their development, called versions.  As an example, you could have a different copy of each backed-up file for each backup session.  Further, you can easily restore any of your files at a given point in time.  Banks do it, big corporations do it, and now small businesses can do it, too.  Our remote backup system gives you this easy to use version control system.

Illuminova’s Online Backups are encrypted for complete security.  Tape backups generally are not encrypted.  Anyone can read them and gain access to your client database, billing records, payroll, tax info — whatever you’ve backed up.  Our software encrypts backups using your choice of eight of the strongest cryptographic methods in the world for complete security so nobody can read your files but you.

Finally and most importantly - Backups are immediately sent offsite and stored safely away from the work site.  This is where just about everybody makes their biggest mistake. Even when everything else is done perfectly, backups are of little use if a building floods or burns, or if the tapes are damaged in some other way.  Most small companies who do backups leave the tapes in the building with the computer, where they are destroyed, right along with the computer.

Operations and Screenshots

Illuminova’s remote backup system comes as two modules - a Client and a Server.  The Client software is automated and keeps track of the date and time and type of the next backup, and sleeps on the System Tray of your fileserver without interfering with any other programs.

At the scheduled time the remote backup Client software wakes up and determines which files need backing up, and what kind of backup (out of three possibilities) is scheduled for that session.  The utility then compresses those files into archives that can in many cases be only 5% to 15% of the original file sizes.  These archives are then encrypted using a key known only to YOU.

After archives are compressed and encrypted, the Illuminova data center is contacted through your Internet connection.  Security tokens are passed (so backup jobs cannot be hijacked) and your computer sends its backup.  The backup is verified for integrity before sending, while being sent, and again after it reaches the data center.  This ensures that the backup that's on our data center server exactly matches what was sent from you.

After the backup is sent to the Server and verified, the Client returns to Idling state, once again sleeping until the next backup session begins.

Restoring Files

Subscribers to Illuminova’s remote backup service can restore their own data through an easy to understand user interface.  From the designated central system, users would run our client, pick the Restore option from the menu, tag the files they want to restore, then the Client software restores the files.

The Client sees a list of all the files available for restoration on your admin server.  This file listing is sorted by Backup Set Name and Backup Date.   The file listing usually contains several versions of the same files.  This is part of the exclusive Version Control system built into our software.  You may restore any version of your files - not just the latest version.

Select files or sets of files by tagging and untagging them individually or in groups.  The File Finder feature is extremely powerful. With a single selection clients can select the latest version of all files; only a particular subdirectory; a single drive letter or files whose names match a certain criteria.  You can come up with virtually any set of files you want to back up by using combinations of the various tagging options.

When the files to be restored are all tagged, the system automatically contacts the data center, gets the files, and restores them.  You have the option of restoring the files to their original locations or placing them somewhere else.

Major Features

Encryption - Illuminova supports these encryption standards and bit lengths.  The multi-encryption feature makes our data as secure as humanly possible.  YOU keep your key — we cannot read your files.

Secure Key Generator  Clients can enter their own Encryption Key, or they can use Illuminova’s Key Generator.  The Key Generator creates "statistically perfect" encryption keys that are much more secure than human users can create.

Predefined Include/Exclude Files – We offer predefined Backup Sets with files preselected for Include or Exclude, AutoSelect ON or OFF, and other Backup Set definitions.  This makes it possible for our software to be set up quickly, while automatically including new files and directories added after the service was initiated.

Administrator's Features - Entering the Administrator's password at the Client opens access to enhanced features on the Client software.

Bigger Backups - Unlimited file size and count.  Illuminova supports backing up hundreds of thousands of files per Backup Set, and file sizes in the terabytes.  Contracts may be extended at any time.  Your size limitation is contractual ONLY.  Your backup will run, even if you go over the size limit in this Remote Backup Agreement.

Disaster Recovery System - Clients should make sure their Encryption Keys and Passwords are safe, but if you don't, our Disaster Recovery System makes it possible restore them from Key Disks that we generate when your system is installed.

Scheduled Start Date - Allows scheduling a Backup Set to launch at a future date.  Good for special backups like Year End or Month End.

Reporting Options - Reporting options include the ability to export comma-delimited files for easy import into accounting systems and other software.  The easy-to-use interface gives you assurance that your data is being backed up safely and reliably to Illuminova’s care.

Our remote backup service helps in a lot of ways.  It reduces hardware problems, eliminates the possibility of human error (changing tapes, forgetting to start the job, etc.) and enables a quick recovery in the event of a true disaster — you just download your data to get it back.  Files reside at our secure facility until needed.  Cost is very reasonable — a flat $300 / year for 10GB of data storage including weekly updates.  Nightly backups ARE AVAILABLE as are larger backup sets.  Call for details (302) 266-6660.  Thank you.

And thanks for reading this article.  If there's anything we can do to help, please give us a call.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Stephen Worden / Illuminova Technical Services.