Backup Guidelines

Backup regularly

Take backups regularly. If you ever need to restore from backup, you'll only be able to recover up to the last time you took backup. Ideally backup should be automatic and ongoing, and not something you need to remember to trigger manually.

Test backups

You should occasionally test restoring data from your backup solution to make sure that it works as expected. Waiting until you really need to recover data from backup would be a bad time to discover that your backup process was not working the way you thought it was.

Use versioning

Many backup solutions offer a versioning option. With versioning, if there is a problem with the most recently backed up copy of a file, you might still be able to recover a previous version without that problem.

Keep backups separate

Manual backups: To ensure the security of your research files backup, please adhere to the following guidelines when using external drives for manual backups:
- Disconnect Immediately: After completing the backup, disconnect the external drive immediately.
- Avoid Internet Browsing and Email: Do not browse the internet or check emails while the external backup drives are connected to desktops or laptops.
Automated backups: consult with IMSS Information Security to make sure the backups are being conducted in a way that keeps the data as safe as possible.

CrashPlan

Caltech has a site license for CrashPlan, a cloud-based backup service. Learn more about the software and service from the IMSS Help Desk.