3,2,1 Backup!
January 25, 2014
Business, Technology
46 Comments on 3,2,1 Backup!

3,2,1 Backup!

Your livelihood depends on digital files, so you’d best be prepared for when (not if) something goes wrong. Making sure you have multiple copies of each file is a start, but how and where you store those copies is just as important. A common backup strategy is the 3-2-1 system:

  • Keep 3 copies of every important file: one primary set and two backups.
  • Store the copies on 2 different media types — DVD and Hard Drive, for example — to protect against different types of hazards.
  • Keep 1 copy in an offsite location to protect against local incidents like fire or theft.

Once you decide on your backup strategy, be consistent with it. In an emergency, it won’t be terribly helpful if you only backed up some of your files. Back up everything, and do it regularly.

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This article was written by
Jerry Weiner
Jerry Weiner

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There are 46 comments for this article
  1. Michael Rispoli at 2:07 pm

    I’ve used this type of system for over 18 years and it works wonders. At first it was costly when there were only CD’s, but now with the cost of storage space at an all-time low, its easy to back everything up.
    I back up files daily, then weekly and every time I do a photo shoot, I save the cards till I have 3 sets of them backed up.
    I have Cd’s that still work after 18 years, but have also converted them to DVD’s. I also switch out my hard drives every 5 years as well. That way I make sure I will never lose anything. My back-up systems are a part of my yearly operating budget and has saved my life a few times where something crashed.

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