W. Curtis Preston
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Opinions expressed by ICN authors are their own.
W. Curtis Preston – known as Mr. Backup – is an expert in backup, storage and recovery, having worked in the space since 1993. He has been an end-user, consultant and analyst.
Most recently he has joined the team at Druva, a cloud-based data protection company. He’s written three books on the subject, Backup & Recovery, Using SANs and NAS and Unix Backup & Recovery.
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of W. Curtis Preston and do not necessarily represent those of IDG Communications, Inc., its parent, subsidiary or affiliated companies.
Make sure your laptop backups can handle ransomware
There’s more than one way to backup laptop data, but not all of them can defeat the tricks attackers have designed into ransomware.
Backup lessons from a cloud-storage disaster
Organizations that failed to make sure their cloud data was backed up properly learned the consequences the hard way when an OVHcloud data center burned last month.
Ransomware: How to make sure backups are ready
Avoid paying off ransomware attackers by following these steps to ensure backups can restore infected systems.
How to protect backups from ransomware
Backups can be defended against ransomware attacks by moving them offsite from primary systems, removing file-system access to the backups, and avoiding using Windows as a backup platform.
Disaster recovery lessons from an island struck by a hurricane
Prepping for disaster recovery needs a plan, testing, and thinking about non-technical necessities like food and shelter for the recovery team.
Facts about backup security that should scare you to death
How to tighten up security for backup systems and avoid malicious activities carried out by lone wolves.
Backing up databases is critical and complex
Proper database backup is essential because of the importance of the data they contain, so understanding how the work is also a must.
Should you upgrade tape drives to the latest standard?
A recently released standard for linear tape-open—LTO-9—sets the scene for faster drives with more capacity, but are they a must-have?
How to make sure data that should be backed up gets backed up
Using selective exclusion to determine what data gets backed up may result in storing some useless data, but it avoids having no backup for the important stuff.
Item-level vs. image-level backup: Why it’s best to use a combo
Two types of backup – item level and image level – have different strengths, and it’s possible to tap the best of both.
How to backup essential data but not the garbage
There’s lots of ways to sort out what to back up and what not to, but the goal should always be to back up everything that needs to survive a crash.
How synthetic full backup works and why you might need it
Synthetic full backup can eliminate traditional full backup and deliver more efficiency
How to backup hyperconverged infrastructure
Backing up hyperconvered infrastructure means backing up virtual machines, and that means several options to choose from.
5 metrics you need to know about your backup and recovery system
Enterprises need to gather key data to determine whether their backup and recovery plans match up with reality.
Coronavirus prep could prompt better disaster recovery
On the chance that the COVID-19 virus forces masses of employees to work from home, this could be the time to review your disaster-recovery plans and address shortcomings
For secure data backup, here’s how to do the 3-2-1 rule right
The venerable 3-2-1 rule for backing up data remains a tried-and-true method for insuring the integrity of copied data that is essential to disaster recovery efforts, but it has to be done properly.
How to back up Kubernetes and Docker
You don’t have to back up everything about every container, but it’s important to back up configurations for running and managing them in case of disaster.
Do containers need backup?
It’s not always the case, but there are circumstances when it’s important to back up Docker and other containers to avoid costly loss.
Object storage in the cloud: Is backup needed?
Block storage in the cloud that is not properly backed up can result in lost data, and while object storage in the cloud is more resilient, it pays to be careful.