The InformationWeek -- Blogs
Backup and Business Continuity Blog

Topics:   Backup and Business Continuity

  • Email this page E-mail this page
  • Print this page Print this page
  • Bookmark and Share
  • icon

Fireproof Storage? I Don't Get It


Posted by Howard Marks, Feb 27, 2008 10:11 PM

Over the past couple of years ioSafe, Sentry, and Schwab have introduced a new generation of backup targets, fireproof storage. A Frankenstein like crossbreeding of USB hard drive or NAS and fireproof safe, they can protect your backups against fire, flood (as they're waterproof, too) and gloom of night. Last Interop our own Steve Hill drove out to the desert with the friendly folks from ioSafe, poured a flammable liquid on one of there NAS boxes and had himself a nice little computer barbecue so they could demonstrate that the data inside laughs at fire. Cool I thought but why?


Even if all it took was pulling the box out of the rubble and plugging it in to restore your backups, I wouldn't recommend a fireproof hard drive as your main line of defense for the SMB customers these vendors are pitching. They're still vulnerable to theft (OK, less because of their weight), and crazy disgruntled employees (See D'oh! I Should Have Made A Backup #1 earlier in this fine blog.)

But lets look at the fire scenario. You run a backup to the fireproof storage Friday at 6 p.m. Sunday at 3 a.m. your office building catches fire. The fire department, buildings department, and fire marshals investigating possible arson (Morris on the 3rd floor wasn't doing so well and owed some money) finally give you access or pull the hard drive/safe out and give it to you Tuesday at 3 p.m.

If you had an online backup account, you could start restoring as soon as you knew and recover the scanned copy of your insurance policy before kickoff.

Add in that Schwab, known for making quality safes, charges more than $2,000 for a 320-GB device and that $200 a month for online backup looks to me like a better idea.

« EMC Boosts Mozy Pro Prices Up To 300% | Main | Join Us For GridTalk Friday On The Future Of Motorati Island »



Sign Up Now
For InformationWeek News Alerts




This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.




 
 

  1. Sequential Programming: Like Eating Peas with a Straw.
  2. Biomolecular device using self-assembled DNA nanostructures?
  3. Coreinfo v2.0: A Simple Utility to Understand the Manycore Complexity in Windows


Join The InformationWeek Group On LinkedIn


                           


  1. More Reasons Why Linux Misses The Desktop
  2. Too Much Netbook For Too Litl?
  3. Verizon: $350 ETF Is A Go
  4. Motorola Explains Why Droid Doesn't Have Multi-Touch


  1. Florida Hospital Dials Up iPhones For Nurses
  2. Full Nelson: A Web Presence Needs Sizzle, My Nizzle
  3. Is Antivirus Software Dead?
  4. Practical Analysis: The Fastest-Growing Security Threat
  5. InformationWeek Analytics Research: Federated Search
  6. Securing The Cyber Supply Chain

 

  Ars Technica
Boing Boing
Channel 9 Forums
CRN Blogs
Dr.Dobb's Portal: Blogs
Engadget
Gizmodo
GrokLaw
  Lifehacker
Schneier on Security
Slashdot
TechCrunch
Techdirt
Techmeme
Valleywag

  DECEMBER 2008
NOVEMBER 2008
OCTOBER 2008
SEPTEMBER 2008
AUGUST 2008
JULY 2008
JUNE 2008
MAY 2008
  APRIL 2008
MARCH 2008
FEBRUARY 2008
JANUARY 2008
DECEMBER 2007
NOVEMBER 2007
OCTOBER 2007
SEPTEMBER 2007