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Backing Up Important Information
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An important part of living in the 'Information Age' is to properly care for data and ensure its safety. Frequent data backups in multiple locations, especially for important documents and records is recommended.
There are severel methods of backing up data:
| Method | Storage Capacity and Requirements |
Strengths | Weaknesses | Summary |
| CD-R/RWs | ~ 700MB CD Burner |
· Long-term storage with little decay · Can do many backups at regular intervals and store conveniently · Inexpensive |
· Can become scratched or heat-warped · Relatively small storage capacity | Optical storage is a good way to create regular small backups over a time span, and their ease of storage is both a blessing and a curse, since they can be easily lost, and must be cared for to prevent scratches |
| DVD-ROM/RWs | ~ 4.5GB DVD Burner | |||
| DVD-R Dual Layer | ~ 8.5GB DVD Dual Layer Burner | |||
| USB Flash Drive (aka "Jumpdrive/Thumbdrive") | 32MB-16GB USB Port |
· Many models durable · Convenient and fast · Most work on both Windows and MacOS X |
· Small and easy to misplace · No read/write protection on many models |
Flash Drives have rapidly surpassed optical discs as the fast way to transfer files and documents. They are durable and reliable, but can age quickly and should not be used for long-term storage or heavy file transfer. |
| External Hard Drive | Up to 1000GB+ USB/Firewire/eSATA |
· High Capacity · Fast data transfer · Reliable, depending on model |
· Often heavy and/or sensitive to transport · Potential for mechanical failure · Often not transferrable between Windows/MacOS X |
External hard drives come in all shapes, sizes, and prices, but are an invaluable way to quickly backup large amounts of data. They are less durable than flash drives, but have longer life spans and are generally more reliable for long-term storage. |
| Yale Pantheon Network Storage | 500MB Valid NetID and Network connection |
· Fast · Convenient in computer clusters · Accessible anywhere from the internet |
· Small capacity · Requires network connection |
Pantheon network storage is a good extra backup for really important files and as a quick means of saving a file from a cluster machine. It is also a quick way to post files or create a personal web page. · How to use Pantheon File Transfer · How to mount you Pantheon Space |
