The Best Ways to Backup a ServerIn Feburary 2016 15,

In Feburary 2016 15,
Tape backup drives can be integral to the network or housed at remote locations. Tape backup provides a high amount of data storage at an economical price, but tape drive technology is becoming dated in computer fields. The largest disadvantage of a tape backup is the speed, which can be critical in situations where a restore is necessary. A DVD recorder can be used as a backup system that operates faster than a tape drive at a comparable price. The disadvantage here is the need to have personnel on location to change and label the disks.
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Tapes and floppies are economical, but slow for server backups.
Disk Image Backups
A disk image is an exact duplicate of a hard drive compressed into a single large file. Disk backups can be stored on the server or on other media devices. Disk images can be created using common disk copying and burning software. The main disadvantage for using disk images is you cannot access specific folders or other data in the image; you must install the complete image to get to the data. Disk images are suited more towards laptop or home networks than large network applications.
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A disk image makes an exact, compressed copy of the hard drive contents.
Cloned Drives
A cloned drive is an exact copy of one computer hard drive onto another hard drive. In the event of a drive failure, the two can be swapped out, returning the system to the last clone session. Cloning requires investing in dual drives and running frequent backup sequences. Automated cloning systems have the potential to transfer a computer virus or other malicious software, rendering the backup useless for a recovery. Scheduled cloning of server drives provides the ability to restore a drive to as little as minutes before a crash but must be monitored to prevent the introduction of undesirable code errors.
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External hard drives are useful for disk cloning backups.
NAS Backups
Network attached storage (NAS) are essentially self-contained hard drives connected to the network. NAS systems may be the most dependable on-site backup for servers. They can be set up to operate using backups, clones or disk images. The least favorable aspect of a NAS is the price, which can be much higher than other types of server backup hardware.
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A NAS box resemble as computer case, but lacks a motherboard and CPU.
RAID Systems
In a redundant array of independent disks (RAID) system, for every active drive within the server, a duplicate, identical drive exists. When data is written to one disk, it is simultaneously written to the other. RAID systems provide real-time backups that other server backup devices cannot match. For disadvantages, RAID systems are controlled at the motherboard or BIOS level and can be difficult to install. Because both disks receive the same data, older computers may face severe reduction in CPU performance. RAID systems do not have any defense against malicious code, and data written on the primary drive immediately corrupts the secondary drive as well.
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RAID systems are usually installed in the server.
In Feburary 2016 15,