Hey everyone! I'm currently working in a small district and I'm on the hunt for some reliable tools for two main tasks: 1) Regular backups and 2) Recovery solutions in case of data loss, whether it's from malware or just accidental deletions.
We recently had an incident where a user migrated a bunch of documents, but ended up with shortcuts instead of actual files. When they cleared the Recycle Bin, all those documents were lost. I've tried some free recovery options like Recuva and Disk Drill, but they haven't helped much—just recovering shortcuts. So now, I'm looking for some solid backup and recovery solutions, preferably free, since we need to implement something right away with minimal resistance. Currently, most users only have Google Drive Desktop syncing files from certain folders. Any suggestions or experiences with tools or vendors that could help us out? Thanks in advance!
5 Answers
Don't forget that backups aren’t just about software; it's really about having a solid infrastructure in place. Ideally, you should have three backup points: one primary, one secondary, and a disaster recovery point. Better options tend to be the paid software like Veeam or Commvault, while open-source solutions can lack some features you may need.
Have you thought about using shadow copies? This works best if you centralize user file storage on a server share. It's a great tool for those 'oops' moments, giving you a few weeks’ worth of recovery options before needing to resort to backups.
Check out iDrive or iDrive 360. They're not free, but they offer good value for the features provided.
It's important for users to take responsibility for their data as well. If you're using Google Drive, there should be backups of the data unless the syncing wasn't working properly. For server backups, I recommend checking out Cohesity; I find it really effective for educational environments. You might also want to check out resources like techsoup.org.
Recovery tools can be hit or miss these days, especially with SSDs that erase data quickly. If you're looking at a backup solution, consider a NAS setup with individual shares for each machine. Using something like the Veeam free agent to back up to that NAS could be a decent start.
If budget allows, investing in a QNAP or Synology NAS might be worth it—they offer endpoint backup software as well. Ideally, though, setting up a proper file server that can keep both local and offsite backups (like a 3-2-1 setup) is the best option.
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