• Establish a backup policy and procedures.backup image by Paul Moore from Fotolia.com
  
  A working, accessible backup of the computer system is an insurance policy that nobody wants to use. Should the time come, the backup must be up-to-date, accessible, and functional. The best way for a network administrator to accomplish this is to set and follow a backup policy that covers basic procedures.
  
  

Timing

• Perform backups routinely, at regular intervals. On a highly used and frequently updated system, backups should be performed daily, at minimum. Identify who is responsible for performing backups and require everyone who does a backup to log the information that was backed up, the date and time, the media used, and his name. This log should be kept in a safe place, accessible to the network staff.
  
  

Location

• Store backups off-site as well as on-site. Off-site backups ensure that fire, water, smoke, and theft in the building won't prevent use of a backup when needed. On-site backups can reduce downtime because the network staff doesn't have to take the time to retrieve the off-site backup. In both cases, make sure the storage location is secure. Most backups contain sensitive data.
  
  

Testing

• Test the backups on a regular basis. This is done by using the backup to load data on a test computer. This process confirms that backup procedures are accurate and produce a usable backup. It will also increase the awareness and comfort level of network staff members if the system goes down and they have to use a backup.
  
  

Backup Type

• Choose the backup type that best suits the needs of the business, or a combination of backup types. The three main types are full, incremental, and differential. Full backups back up everything on a specific computer. This can take a lot of storage space and time. Incremental backups copy only the information that has changed since the last backup. Differential backups back up everything that has changed since the last full backup. Companies can use a combination of these three types in their backup strategy to find a balance between the time it takes to perform backups and the time it takes to use the different types of backups to restore the system.