Data Backup Plan: External Hard Drive and Optical Discs

In two previous posts I talked about using only an external hard drive or only optical discs for backing up your data. I also talked about the benefits and drawbacks of using only those two types of storage media.

In this post I will talk about a backup plan that includes both of those types of media to see if using them together will create a good backup data plan.

A Solution for Everyone

It is difficult to talk to someone that hasn't used an external hard drive, or burned an optical disc in the past. These two types of storage media are probably two of the most commonly used today.

An external hard drive is easy to use, simply plug it into the computer and you are good to go. Optical media are almost as easy. You simply insert the media into a burner, and then load up you burning software. Follow the instructions and you can easily backup your data to an optical disc.

This plan provides you with several key factors with regards to backing up data:

1. Redundant Data. Even if you only burn your data to one optical disc, you still have two copies of your data: one on the external hard drive and one on the optical disc. To be safe, however, I would burn at least two copies of your data onto optical discs.
2. Plenty of disk space. Using an external hard drive provides you with a lot of storage space. Some hard drives are now into the terabytes of disk space. While you are limited to several gigabytes of disc space per optical disc, you can easily burn many discs to make up for the lack of storage space.
3. Offsite backup. While you can't constantly move an external hard drive, unless it is the small portable variety, optical discs can easily be moved to a different location. Burning two copies of your data onto optical discs allows you to easily move your data to two locations.

The above three points are critical to keep in mind when planning a data backup plan. A good plan will provide a solution to the three points mentioned above.

With this plan there is only the question of media durability. While external hard drives are fairly durable, they can also be damaged by sudden electrical spikes and drops. Ensure the hard drive is well protected from "dirty" electricity. Also, since hard drives are high-precision instruments, ensure they are on a stable surface to avoid excessive shaking.

Optical discs are more of a worry when it comes to durability. Ensure that you only use high-quality media when backing up your files. If you choose to use cheap, low-quality versions, chances are you will lose your data. You get what you pay for with optical media.

Backup Plan Results

Item	Rating
Cost	4 - External hard drives are really cheap when you compare the price per gigabyte. Optical discs can be purchased for pennies each.
Setup	5 - Simply plug in the external hard drive to use it. Optical discs can easily be burned using many different free and purchased software. Since Windows XP, you can burn to optical discs directly from the operating system.
Disk Storage Space	4 - You may be limited by the storage space of the optical discs, but the external hard drive provides you with a vast amount of disk space.
Redundancy	5 - You can burn your data onto many optical discs, as well as copy the files to the external hard drive. By using only one optical discs, you still have two copies of your data: one on the hard drive and one on the disc.
Media Durability	3 - While hard drives can easily be damaged by such things as electricity and shaking, they are fairly durable compared to some varieties of optical discs.
Offsite Backup	4 - While the external hard drive may not be very portable, you can easily move the optical discs to another location.

Conclusion

The media combination explained in this post is a very common way of backing up your data. All hardware needed can easily be purchased from every computer or electronics store. The price of implementing such a plan is relatively cheap compared to the amount of storage space you will have available to you.

If you take care of your external hard drive, and use high-quality optical discs, then this backup plan should server you well for years to come.