Data Backup Plan: USB Flash Drives

The most popular data backup options are probably to use an external hard drive or optical discs, such as DVD discs. These two are popular because they have been around for a few years and are easy to find and buy.

Another good a solution is to use USB flash drives. These are also available anywhere, and now come in large enough capacities that make using them for data backup very easy.

Small Size - Lots of Space

In the past few years USB flash drives, or pen drives, have increased substantially in the amount of storage space they hold. You can easily find ones that are 4 GB or higher. Some even come with 64 GB of storage space, with much larger capacities coming soon.

The larger storage space means that you can backup a lot of your data in a device that is the size of your finger. Simply plugging the drive to a USB port allows you to easily copy files from one drive onto a flash drive.

While using such a device sounds great, there are a few things to keep in mind when using one of these drives:

1. Not all USB flash drives are created the same. The transfer speed between the devices can differ quite substantially, with the generic brands having much lower speeds than the high-quality named brands. The type of memory used in the drive affect performance.
2. They have limited write ability to the memory. While the average person won't wear out a USB flash drive, it is important to note that you can write an infinite number of times to the memory.
3. The general consensus online is that a USB flash drive will last for about 10 yeras. Obviously, since they are relatively new, it is hard to truly predict how long they will last. If you plan to backup your data for the long term, you will need to keep this in mind.
4. While they are increasing in storage capacity, they are still far behind an external hard drive,and cost more per gigabyte than a hard drive.

When using USB flash drives as part of your backup plan, there are several benefits to these devices. The one benefit is that it is easy to move the device to another location. This is important to move your data offsite. Their small size also makes storing the flash drive easy as very little space is needed.

Another benefit is that USB flash drives aren't as fragile as an external hard drive. There are no moving parts in the device so they are less likely to have a failure if not handled properly. You should, however, treat the device as you would with any of your backup media.

They pack a lot of storage space for their small size. The largest capacity USB flash drives can hold the equivalent to about 10-15 DVD discs, and in a much smaller physical space.

Backup Plan Results

Item	Rating
Cost	4 - This is a fairly cheap backup method, especially when you consider the price per storage space.
Setup	5 - The setup is very easy. You simply connect the USB flash drive to the computer, and he operating system should automatically detect the drive and configure a drive letter for it.
Disk Storage Space	3 - These drives are constantly increasing in disk storage space and currently offer quite a large amount of space for their size. They are still more expensive per gigabyte than external hard drives.
Redundancy	1 - Using a single USB flash drive provides no data redundancy. You can, however, use multiple flash drives to keep redundant data.
Media Durability	5 - While the best estimate to device life is 10 years, they are fairly durable since they have no moving parts.
Offsite Backup	4 - The small size of the USB flash drives makes them very easy to move from one location to another.

Conclusion

USB flash drives are great media to use for backing up your data. They are not over-expensive, and are rapidly increasing in the amount of storage space they can contain, however, they are more expensive per gigabyte than an external hard drive. Purchasing more than one flash drive will allow you to backup your data twice for data redundancy.

Their small size makes it easy for your to store the device, and your data, offsite. For an overall backup plan that provides protection and security for your data, using a USB flash drive should fit your backup needs nicely.