Today was one of those deeply unglamorous but absolutely critical days. I spent most of it auditing, verifying, and improving my backup strategy. Not exciting, but very satisfying. This is also your annual reminder that good backups are not optional if your business lives on a computer.
The most important thing I protect is the database that runs my business. My setup is an Access front end connected to SQL Server on the back end. I use my Access Backup Template as a sort of backup control center. At 3am, my main database shuts itself down and shells out to the backup template. Access is not great at backing up files that are currently open, so this approach avoids that problem entirely.
The backup template zips up all of my ACCDB files, excluding itself, and copies them to an off-site backup location. On the SQL Server side, I have scheduled jobs that back up all databases automatically. Those backups are also copied off-site, so both the Access layer and the SQL layer are covered.
Most of the files I actively work with live (Word docs, XL sheets, PPTs, etc.) in Google Drive. I trust Google, but not blindly. As part of my routine, any Google Drive files that change locally are also copied into my backup set. Redundancy is the point.
Until recently, I was relying on Windows file images for full system backups. I'd update those quarterly. OK, maybe annually. Today I upgraded that setup by moving to Macrium. I picked up a 4 PC license, which fits my office perfectly. Macrium handles full system images including the OS and installed applications. From everything I've read, it can also restore to new hardware and deal with drivers intelligently if a machine dies. I haven't had to test that in anger yet, but I like having that parachute packed.
The plan is monthly full system images and nightly incremental backups on every machine. That gives me depth without wasting time or storage.
To tie it all together, I wrote some automation scripts using WinSCP. All of those local backup files get copied up to my Wasabi storage server, which already hosts the website files and videos. I also finally automated the SQL Server backups for the website itself. That used to be a once-a-week manual process. It's now fully scheduled and hands-off.
Up until now, a lot of this was still a monthly manual chore. I had to log in and manually back up the SQL Server on the website, grab the website's FTP files, and double-check that everything was safely copied off-site. It worked, but it was time-consuming and easy to procrastinate. After today, all of that is fully automated. Instead of spending a whole day once a month doing backups, I should now be able to spend just a few minutes once a week or once a month verifying that everything is running as it should. It's the same philosophy I teach with Microsoft Access automation. You spend a day building it properly so you don't have to keep doing the same boring task forever. Backups follow the same rule I've always believed in, borrowed from Cold War strategy. Trust, but verify.
The result is layered, automated, off-site backups with minimal human involvement. My only ongoing task is to manually verify once a week that everything is still running as expected. That's a trade I'm happy to make.
So yes, this is what I did with my Sunday. Not thrilling, but future-me will be very grateful. Hopefully, I'll be able to just sit back and relax while the systems all backup themselves and I enjoy my coffee.
If anyone's interested in a more in-depth tutorial on how I handle backups, let me know. I've covered Access-only backups before, but if you want a full Windows-level walkthrough covering Macrium, WinSCP, Google Drive, and the whole setup as a go-to guide, I'm happy to put one together. I'll definitely be covering automated backups in my upcoming SQL Server course.
Richard I would definitely like to see a more in-depth video on your backup strategy, topography, and automation. The video would also serve as "documentation"! Your future-you will appreciate it! LLAP!
Michael Olgren
@Reply 4 months ago
I would also +1 the backup video. I am an IT volunteer at a small non-profit. My main role is “the backup guy.” We also use Macrium but the files we back up are so important that I am directed to swap out 8 TB external backup drives (and keep them at my house) every month. Redundancy upon redundancy.
Yeah, I just set up Rclone today, which is what the pros use for doing large-scale offsite backups. I was able to transfer almost a terabyte of data in a few hours, which is all of my hard drive backups and my critical video files and stuff. Then I set up a nightly routine that copies up all the incremental backups, which are much smaller, like 10 to 15 GB. That takes about 10 to 15 minutes, but it's a huge time saver now. Instead of having to have a backup day once a month, I can just do a quick check and verify that the backups are running 10 minutes once every month.
Matt Hall
@Reply 4 months ago
Since many of us wind being the IT person for our homes, at least, I would think you would get interest in any of the "infrastructure" type videos that you were interested in producing or endorsing. It could be design/philosophy, instruction/install, or product reviews. I am just thinking about sharing knowledge you have already taken the time to learn for yourself, not necessarily developing a whole new line of courses. I would be interested in anything you are willing to share.
Bruce Vivash
@Reply 4 months ago
Yes, would be interested in a full windows walk through backup
Sorry, only students may add comments.
Click here for more
information on how you can set up an account.
If you are a Visitor, go ahead and post your reply as a
new comment, and we'll move it here for you
once it's approved. Be sure to use the same name and email address.
This thread is now CLOSED. If you wish to comment, start a NEW discussion in
Captain's Log.
