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Technical Brief: Backup

This Technical Brief is a valuable resource to learn how to backup and restore your LaCie professional server using Windows® Server. You will also find detailed instructions on how to backup workstations to the server. While the examples and screenshots come from Windows® Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials, they apply to Windows Home Server 2011 as well.

Administrator

In order to review, confirm, or redefine the software settings on your LaCie professional server, you must have Administrative rights to the device.

LaCie Professional Servers and Backup

Perhaps the most important aspect of network design and implementation is data backup. Without question, every bit of data in an office must be configured for backup to protect against all worse case scenarios. From individual file replacement on a single workstation to the entirety of an office server, you must have a plan for restoring data that has been lost.

Fortunately, LaCie professional servers provide easy-to-use setup wizards to configure automated backups for all workstations on the network. Should a workstation experience data corruption or fail, you can rest assured that the files are safely backed up onto your LaCie server. Restoring the data is just as simple thanks to a wizard that walks you through each step.

Additionally, your LaCie server empowers you to configure automated backups for the server itself. Just connect one or more desktop attached storage (DAS) devices to its USB 2.0 and/or eSATA 3Gb/s ports, then launch the Backup Wizard. As the pages that follow will explain, setup is intuitive and easy to manage.

Important info: Depending upon your LaCie professional server, you may need to attach a USB keyboard and VGA monitor when attempting a system restore.

LaCie RAID Configurations and Windows® Backup

LaCie recommends backing up all data in your office, including files stored on traditional backup servers such as LaCie professional servers. To facilitate local backups, all LaCie professional servers include a simple wizard that will help you to configure automated backups. Many IT administrators and office managers have considered their unique environment for backing up data so this Technical Brief will not delve into the logistical requirements for maintaining data at one or more sites.

However, it is important to note the limitations for backing up data beyond a fixed storage capacity. Please keep in mind that the wizard will not allow you to backup data from a volume that is greater than 2TB. Since the majority of businesses and IT professionals take advantage of commercial and private backup solutions, the recommended LaCie RAID configurations include volumes greater than 2TB (see Technical Brief: RAID). If you intend to use the convenient backup wizards found in this Technical Brief and your server includes partitions greater than 2TB, go directly to RAID - Creating Multiple Volumes to learn how to partition volumes. Please note that partitioning volumes will delete data. Make certain to copy all files before partitioning and recreating RAID arrays.

For further information on the 2TB volume limitation with the Windows Backup Wizard, please see the links below:

5big Office+
5big Office

Offsite Backup

Many businesses may find it important to keep data safe in two or more locations in order to guard against hardware failure, natural disasters, or fire. Servers running Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials include data replication (DFS-R) to maintain files between servers in two or more locations. Among the many advantages that replication offers is secure data backup to an alternative site. Please see our Technical Brief on Technical Brief: DFS for further information.

© LaCie 2024 Last modified : Mar 01, 2013