The minimum "best practice" backup arrangement for your vital data is to maintain three copies of the data: the original, a local backup, and a second backup offsite. With LaCie's CloudBox NAS device, you simply back up to the ethernet-connected unit, which then automatically backs up to LaCie's own online backup service. But easy as it is, CloudBox is also expensive, capacity-challenged, and slower than average.
<a href="http://www.networkworld.com/community/toolshed/gibbs-takes-look-new-qnap-nas-devices-his">A couple of weeks ago</a> I started trying to get a <a href="http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_hardware.asp?p_id=200">QNAP TS-1079 Pro</a> network attached storage (NAS) device set up.
Your PC's hard drive may have half a terabyte of data on its platters, and you might not remember the last time you backed any of it up. In all likelihood, though, you use only a few gigabytes' worth of files on a regular basis. With a combination of cloud-storage services, you can keep that data backed up and synced among all of your computers automatically, and access your most essential files whenever you want.
No question, the iPad and iPhone are amazing devices. But the iOS operating system isn't perfect. For example: How come AT&T rebills customers every month for cellular data service without asking? Do you really have to buy a AirPrint-compatible printer to print via your iPad? Can you get a refund from Apple on an iTunes purchase?
The Amazon cloud services outage that knocked out several popular Websites last week raised questions about the reliability of the cloud, but the general consensus is that it works if you plan for failure. Like any good business plan, a good cloud plan should include provisions for failure, including plans B and C, and plenty of backups.
Network-attached storage (NAS) can make your business easier to run and more efficient in multiple ways.