ASR (Automated System Recovery) is a feature available on the Windows XP Pro and Windows Server 2003 operating systems for quick and efficient system backup and restore.
Typically, the restore process involves reinstalling the operating system and configuring all physical storage to their original settings before restoring data and settings. Rebuilding the system in this way is a time-consuming and often problematic task, causing many headaches for administrators and technical staff.
ASR significantly automates the process of rebuilding the system, thus allowing you to fully restore your system quickly and efficiently in the event of an emergency or complete system failure, even to a "bare" computer with no software installed.
ASR backups are written to a backup medium, such as tape, which can then be used to restore the system to its prior state. Also required is a floppy disk, which is inserted when the ASR Wizard is run.
To restore, the Windows Installation CD is used to boot up the machine. The ASR floppy disk is inserted, and the ASR restore process commences. The process is completely automated, and the system is restored without further intervention.
ASR backups are a crucial part of your backup plan that will save you both time and money. If you perform an ASR backup each month or when making major system changes, you'll be able to restore the system easily when the need arises.
Alternatives to Tape Backup
You may ask, isn't tape an anachronism in the age of optical disks, removable hard drives and a plethora of whiz-bang, random-access storage media? In many ways it is, but because of the nature of backup it doesn't really matter that tape is slow and sequential-access. Remember, tape is cheap. Businesses use tape because they find it to be a cost-effective backup solution.
Choosing a Tape Drive
Tape drives remain the leading technology used by organizations for backup and archiving. However, the plethora of tape drives on the market can make choosing the appropriate tape drive a confusing task. How do you select a tape drive that satisfies your needs without blowing the budget? The following are just some of the main factors to consider.
Setting up a Tape Backup Strategy for your Business
So you know a little bit about tape backup, but you're wondering how to set up a tape backup strategy for your business. Well, let's take a look at 3 simple steps to setting up a complete backup solution.
