Your Data Backup is Only as Good as Your Backup Media.

You can avoid such nasty and costly surprises, by first deciding on the backup media best suited for your data needs. Yet choosing the best backup media is no insurance, for the reliability of your backed up data, unless the backup media is properly cared for and used. Let’s start with the backup media types and their key characteristics, which help in deciding on the backup media.

Cartridge tapes (akin to your audio cassette) stores data in a sequential fashion (i.e. one after the other). So, its data access time is of longer duration than other backup media. Tape drives (device to read, write tapes) can transfer data at maximum speeds of 120 megabytes per second (that’s faster than many hard disks). Some tapes can store upto 3200 gigabytes of data. Wow! Tapes have a data retention life span of 30 years. The cartridge tape is the most reliable of backup media for large data needs, though the tape drive and the tape are more expensive than other backup media.

From their introduction in the 1970s to the early part of 2000, the popularity of floppy disks / diskettes, was due to their affordability, universal usage, portability, ease of use, small size of software applications and lack of serious competitors. Floppy disks suffer from slow transfer speeds, extreme sensitivity and tiny storage capacity of 1.44 megabytes. Ideal for tiny data storage needs.

Zip disks were introduced in 1994, to replace the 3.5 inch floppy diskette and as a cheaper alternative to the hard disk. Though possessing data storage capacity of upto 750 megabytes, a data retention life span of almost 10 years and a fair degree of portability Zip disks have been almost pushed into oblivion by the explosive growth in hard disk storage standards and the comparatively expensive and less universal Zip drives (needed for using the Zip disks).

USB Flash drives (also popularly known as pen drives, memory sticks or thumb drives) can hold upto 4 gigabytes of data and transfer data at blistering speeds of 400 megabytes per second. They are more compact, portable, rugged and expensive than the floppy diskette or compact discs. It is even considered fashionable to carry a pen drive, since they come in varied shapes and colours. Plug it into a USB port on your computer or device and you can start work right away without having to configure it on your machine (only recent versions of most operating systems automatically recognize it).

Before the USB Flash drives, flashed into human sight, it was the shiny, rainbow colour reflecting, circular Compact Discs (CD), that set the data storage trends, on fire. Physically occupying the least external space (while stacked), yet providing upto 700 megabytes of internal storage space. The CD’s 8-10 year life span of data retention and the hard to believe inexpensive price, almost wiped out the floppy disk, the Zip drive and gave tough competition to the external hard drive. Though having a low data transfer speed of just 8 megabytes per second, the CD has ruled the market not just for data storage, but also the entertainment media market.

The compact disc paved the way for the circular Digital Video Disc (DVD). Capable of storing 8 gigabytes of data, video or audio and with a data storage life span of upto 100 years, the DVD is the successor to the CD. Data transfer speeds are in the realm of 21 megabytes per second (Max.). Small physical area due to its stack-ability and inexpensive pricing, have seen the DVD increasing in popularity, currently.

External hard drives are portable hard disks which transfer data at breakneck speeds of 400 megabytes per second, through the USB port. Capable of storing all types of data upto 250 gigabytes and having a data shelf life of 15 years, these external hard drives are less expensive than tape drives, almost as reliable as the magnetic tape and easily portable. They are also fast catching up as an alternative backup media for large data storage requirements.

Store your floppy diskette, tapes and external hard drive, away from magnetic fields to avoid data corruption. Avoid storing floppy diskettes and tapes in humid / moist conditions to prevent fungal growth. CD’s and DVD’s should be carefully handled to prevent scratches and breakage. External hard disks get damaged by severe jolts and by fall. Store all your data backup media in airtight conditions.

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About the Article Author

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk

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