Data backups: The smart person's guide

This guide is an entry-level summary of enterprise backup software.

All of the cutting-edge applications and exotic storage hardware in the world do not matter if your data backups aren't reliable. This guide is an entry-level summary of enterprise backup software.

Executive summary

What it is: Put very simply, backup software makes copies of all the important information on your network and puts it away for safe keeping. The many ways to do this will be explained in this guide.

Why it matters: Data backup matters in case something gets corrupted in your files. But there are many other reasons to make copies of your work, from the obvious to the arcane.

Who this affects: Backup software impacts everyone. Other than storage and system administrators, most people never think about data backups until it's too late; fortunately, most modern backup software operates invisibly to end users, who will be happy that recent copies of their work are readily available when needed.

When this is happening: Backup is nearly as old as data storage. The phrase "IBM and the seven dwarfs" referred to the leading eight mainframe manufacturers in the 1960s — behemoth IBM along with Burroughs, Control Data, General Electric, Honeywell, NCR, RCA, and Univac. Primitive applications to record data backups emerged from this ecosystem as mass storage options — mostly magnetic tape, but also hard disks — made punched cards obsolete.

How to get it: The easiest way to get a data backup application is by purchasing it directly from the software vendor. Of course, the popularity of backing up data onto private and public clouds is a game-changer for purchasing options.

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Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Buyers Guide

With an ecosystem that is continually evolving, the demands of the security infrastructure of any organisation is being stretched.

Likewise, with the Internet of Things being a huge growth area, governments and commercial organisations must be able to deploy a toolset capable of meeting such requirements today, and be looking at vendors to grow products which have a roadmap that is tracking these requirements, to provide good solid support in the future.

This document will assist your organisations in the selection of the best PKI solution to meet their business and security needs. It outlines key questions to be considered during the selection process to ensure the aforementioned requirements are addressed. While this is not intended to be an exhaustive list, it serves as a starting place to assist you in your review process.

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Executive Guides

The Executive’s Guide to BYOD and the Consumerization of IT

Executive’s Guide to Best Practices in SaaS and the Cloud

Executive’s guide to the evolution of enterprise software

Executive’s guide to software-defined networking

The Executive’s Guide to the Internet of Things

The Executive’s Guide to Windows 8

The 21st Century Data Center Special Feature

More than ever, data centers run the world, but many of them need a 21st century reboot. Today's data centers have to be more efficient, redundant, and flexible than ever. TechRepublic and ZDNet examine when and how to best run your own data center versus when to outsource to the cloud or a service provider, and when to take a hybrid approach.

The 21st Century Data Center: An overview by Charles McLellan

Executive Guide: The 21st century data center (free ebook)by Jody Gilbert

Research: 96% say IaaS has met expectations by Teena Hammond

Video: Get up to speed on the 21st century data center by Larry Dignan and Jason Hiner

Is it better to own or outsource your data center? by Sam Shead

Open Compute: Does the data center have an open future? by Nick Heath

Cross-functional skills key to running data centers by Ellyne Phneah

Case study: School of Visual Arts overcomes energy and infrastructure challenges by TechRepublic

Cheat Sheet: Microservers by Nick Heath

Own our own data center? Why would anyone do that, CIOs ask by Steve Ranger

The 21st century data center: You're doing it wrong by Spandas Lui

Indian CIOs are breaking their in-house data center habit by Mahesh Sharma

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Cheat Sheets and Quick Reference Guides

Almost every file extension in the world: File extension quick look-up reference

ASCII symbols: How to type special ASCII symbols

CAT5 and other cabling categories: ANSI/EIA standards for categories of twisted pair cabling systems

Chat Abbreviations: Text message shortcuts and abbreviations

Color codes: 216-color browser-safe palette table

Digital signal (DS) multiples: Standard digital transmission rates

Emoticons: Character symbols for expressing emotion in text messages

Error messages for Windows 2000: Quick look-up for Microsoft Windows 2000 error messages

Error messages for Windows XP Pro: Quick look-up for Microsoft Windows XP Pro error messages

How many bytes for...: Tables and other information about how much computer storage is required for a specific purpose

International System of Units: Chart listing values in International System of Units (SI) and the meter-kilogram-second (MKS) system

Kibi, mebi, gibi, tebi, pebi, and all that: Binary prefix multipliers used to clarify the differnce between decimal (power-of-10) and binary (power-of-2) numeration terms Mathematical Symbols. This table contains mathematical symbols and links to definitions of what they represent.

OSI Reference Model Illustrated: Standard reference model for communication between two end users in a network

Our Favorite Cheat Sheets: Cheat sheet charts for programming and end-user applications like Word and Excel

RAID reference chart: Printable PDF chart documenting different levels of RAID

The speed of...: Data rates for end-user and backbone transmission technologies

Fast Guides

Fast guide to 802.11: IEEE 802 reference chart subdivided into 22 parts that cover the physical and data-link aspects of wireless networking

Fast Guide to Acronyms used in manufacturing: Acronyms are used in internal communications within a manufacturing environment.

Fast Guide to CD/DVD: Data transfer rates, rotation speeds and capabilities

Fast Guide to F# Programming: F# is a functional programming language that runs on Microsoft's Common Language Runtime and the .NET Framework.

Fast guide to iSeries SQL: Novice iSeries SQL tips and expert advice.

Fast Guide to IT Humor: Resource for trainers, teachers and presenters

Fast Guide to PL/SQL: PL/SQL is the procedural language extension to the structured query language (SQL).

Fast Guide to RAM: Types of Random Access Memory with explanations of how and where they're used

Fast Guide to Advanced SAN Management: Troubleshooting performance issues, strategies and management tasks.

Fast Guide to Storage Technologies: Evaluation chart for determining what kind of storage technology you need

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