Welcome to our FAQ Section. These questions and answers are designed to assist you in understanding our Services
What is an Online Backup Service?
An Online Backup Service is an Internet-based service that allows computer users to routinely backup and recover their important data using a secure and trusted server on the Internet.
If you use your computer to create and save valuable data for business or personal reasons, you should make some type of backup of your important data to prevent a total loss in the event of any kind of system failure or human error. Simple data backup can be done by saving your data to multiple locations, copying the data from its original location to removable media, another hard drive, or another computers hard drive on the network.
To make this task easier, specialized programs known as Backup Software exist to aid users in regularly making a backup copy of their data. Since some users are not interested in managing the tasks necessary for maintaining their own backups, a new breed of backup software was created, known as Online Backup Software. Online Backup software is designed to routinely copy your important files to a private, secure location on the Internet by securely transmitting your data over your existing Internet connection.
If you have a working Internet connection on your computer, you can use Planet Storage’s Online Backup Systems (OLBS) to keep your important files safe from disaster on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. [Top]
Can We Try the Planet Storage OLBS Client Software Before We Buy it?
Sure! You can download a 15 day demo of our Planet Storage OLBS by sending an e-mail to our sales department at sales@planetisp.com.au to discuss which of our packages are
right for you. [Top]
Does it Make Sense to use Online Backup if you have a Slow Internet Connection?
Depending on the speed of your connection and the size of your backup, your initial backup over the Internet may take several hours. Many people with large backup sizes and slower Internet connections will often run their first backup over the weekend. Once the first backup is completed, each subsequent backup is usually a small amount of data that can be backed up in just minutes over a slower dialup connection.
Our software can also resume a cancelled backup, so you can start the backup during your slow times and cancel it during your busy times. The next time you start the backup, it will pick up from where it was cancelled until the entire backup is complete. [Top]
What Files Should I Select to Backup?
Since your entire hard drive is likely to be much larger than the amount of storage you have purchased on the backup server, you should be selective in the files that you choose for backup. In general, you can avoid backing up any programs that you can reinstall from a purchased CD, such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, etc.). Why pay for storage for "stuff" you can easily re-install? Try to focus your selection on things like your "My Documents", "My Pictures" or "My Music" folders and data files of your important programs like accounting, income tax, contact management, etc. Your online backup software comes with predefined filters, which allow you to automatically select categories of files without knowing where all the files are located. Check the online help for Filters to learn how they can be used. [Top]
How do you Delete Files from the Backup Server?
In order to control how much data is stored on the online backup server, your online backup software allows you to view all of the data stored on the server and selectively remove files from the server. To view the data stored under your account, run your online backup software and click on the folder tab labeled"Restore". In the left windowpane, Right-Click on the Desktop icon and select "Get Volume List from Server". This will show you each computer that has been backed up to your account. Now you can navigate the folders to see what data is stored on the server.
To delete files, click on the button with the Red "X" to enable the Delete Files mode. Mark any files you wish to delete by clicking your mouse in the empty box next to the file(s) you wish to delete. Click the "Delete Files Now" to issue the command to delete the selected files from the server. WARNING: Once a file is deleted from the server, it can no longer be restored. [Top]
Should you also have a Local Backup in Addition to Online Backup?
It's up to you. We encourage people to do both local and remote backup for absolute protection. Users that want an added level of protection will perform local backups in addition to their online backup. Local backups can allow you to backup ALL of your files, while the online backup is a great way to automatically store your critical files off-site. When it comes to your important data, you can never be too safe. Since everyone has different needs, Planet Storage sells a wide variety of backup software and services to help you find the one that best fits your needs. Contact sales@planetisp.com.au for further information. [Top]
What is the Personal Recovery CD?
The Personal Recovery CD is a service that offers copies all of your data from our servers onto CD(s). This allows you to restore the archive of your data from a CD without requiring an Internet connection. This is great for keeping long-term archives of your data or restoring large amounts of data without connecting over a slow Internet connection. [Top]
What do I do if there is Trouble Connecting to the Server or Performing a Backup?
If you are utilizing Planet Storage’s OLBS, call our technical support group for assistance during normal business hours (7am - 7pm EST). You can also view the technical support section of our web site for some helpful information. [Top]
Can I Backup Open Files with the Online Backup Client Software?
In the case of many backup software programs, files and databases that are in use during the backup may not get backed up successfully because they are locked to prevent any other program from altering the data. To solve this problem, Planet Storage’s Online Backup can be used with the optional Open File Manager program to make sure that these open and locked files get backed up successfully. For more information about Planet Storage’s Open File Manager[Top]
I'm Getting an Open File Error Message in my Backup Log. What Does this Mean?
See above. [Top]
What is a FastBIT Backup?
The FastBIT patching process is the core technology behind our speedy backup service. The patching process involves the comparison of two different versions of the same file and extracting the differences between the files. When the differences are extracted from the two files, they are saved into a new file and compressed into what is known as a Patch. The patch file is often 85% to 99.9% smaller than the file which the patch was extracted from originally.
In order to perform a FastBIT backup, the software has to backup the files 3 times: the first backup is a full, the next backup will perform an incremental, and the third performs the first FastBIT backup. For more information about Planet Storage’s FastBIT ™ patching process, Open File Manager[Top]
Why is FastBIT Important?
If you are an end-user, the efficiency of FastBIT will dramatically reduce the time required to backup your data from any network location, include slow dialup connections.
If you are the server administrator, FastBIT will minimize your overall bandwidth utilization for a large installed base. FastBIT will also provide the most cost-effective method of storing ongoing file histories for every user. FastBIT backups can be 15 times smaller than the nearest competitor. That means Planet Storage’s OLBS will only need 10 Gigabytes for user data that would need up to 150 Gigabytes of storage using competitive software for the same amount of user data. [Top]
Do you have a Chart for Bandwidth Requirements?
It's very difficult to analyze those requirements because of all the variables added by FastBIT. However, the basic formula is pretty simple:
Take the expected size, in MB's, of the data you might see in a day, divide it by the amount of seconds in the day and divide that number by 8 to obtain MB/Sec Bandwidth. This will result in the required bandwidth (MB/Sec) needed to sustain 100% load throughout the day.
Example: Let's say we have 500 users sending us an average of 600MB per month (this is about what we see at the Planet Storage Online Centre), then the formula follows:
600MB * 500Users = 300000MB (300GB) / 30days (per month) = 10000MB Per Day (10GB) / 86400seconds (1 day) = 115.74Kb/sec * 8 (to convert to MB/Sec) = .93MB/Sec or about 61% of a full T1.
Of course, this assumes that you have full saturation throughout the day, which isn't going to happen. It typically gets a bit peaky around noonish and around midnight, so to accommodate the mean, you should probably have a 30% overhead, which in the above case, would translate to just about a full T1 (1.5MB/Sec). [Top]
What Platforms does Planet Storage OLBS Support?
Planet Storage OLBS includes client and server software. The client software can be installed on any Windows 98SE, Me, NT, 2000, 2003 (.NET) or XP computer. The Planet Storage Client software communicates to the Planet Storage Servers using the TCP/IP protocol. [Top]
Can you Backup other Platforms with my Planet Storage OLBS Client Software?
Planet Storage OLBS Client software will only run natively on Windows 98SE, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, 2003 (.NET) and XP. If you want to backup computers with other operating systems, it is possible. Here's how... Since Planet Storage OLBS Client supports mapped network drives and the Network Neighborhood, it can backup data from any computer that is accessible via the network. A single Planet Storage OLBS Client can backup the local computer and any number of local or remote network computers using our OLBS powerful user interface. [Top]
What is the Secret Key?
The secret key is a special text string used to encrypt all data that is stored on the server. The secret key can be changed at any time in between backups or restores. If the secret key is forgotten or lost, the Backup Server administrator may not be able to recover the data on the server. [Top]
If I change my Secret Key, can I still Restore Old Data?
When you change the secret key, the previous secret key (and all keys before it if any) are encrypted together using the latest secret key. This way, you need only remember the latest key and do not have to be troubled with remembering, potentially, many keys from past changes. [Top]
I have a Tape System, why Should I Use Planet Storage's Online Backup Services (“OLBS”)?
Tape systems can be reliable, but require a high level of ongoing maintenance to guarantee reliability. With Planet Storage's OLBS 100% of your backups are stored on redundant, fault-tolerant servers, with secondary offsite CD storage.
Important: Your data is at risk if you are using a tape backup system and do not:
The main risk of using tape systems is that they can break, but appear to be working. All indications are that backups were successful . . . until you try to restore.
If your data is security sensitive - Tapes can be read from other drives - there is no encryption method with tapes.
If you want to continue to use tapes as your primary backup, consider using Planet Storage as a secondary backup solution just in case your primary backup system fails. Remember, redundancy is the key to data security! [Top]
Can I Still use My Tape System if I use the Planet Storage Online Backup Service?
Yes. Many of our clients use us as a secondary backup and continue to run their tape backups. This reduces the need to haul tapes off-site while ensuring that data will never be lost. [Top]
Does the Client Software it Work if Our Company has a Firewall?
Absolutely. The software works on a specific part which can be opened by your firewall allowing the software to run. [Top]
I have Mirrored /RAID Hard Drives. Won't that Protect Me from Viruses or Data Loss?
No. Mirrored hardware only protects you from a hardware failure. Since 90% of data loss is due to data corruption or user error, mirrored equipment offers no protection. This is because corrupt data gets instantly written to the mirror equipment. The only way to protect your data is by having a backlog of backups to restore from. [Top]
Need Further Information?
Need any further assistance or information? Just email us at Planet Storage for a prompt response for all your Online Data Backup requirements