Those of you looking to get into the data center business are in luck if you happen to own a bit of land 50-100 miles outside of Washington DC. Computer World reports a trend toward data center outsourcing for the federal government with an eye on facilities outside the instant-death-and-destruction radius of a nuclear weapon. So, if you have the land start building. If not, there is still a lesson here I think.
Now, your business might not be particularly concerned about the destruction range of a nuke, at least not in terms of business continuity, but there is probably still a “blast zone” outside of which it would be wise to store some data. For instance, if your business is located in Tornado Alley, you might want to store some data in a place that doesn’t have a natural disaster in its name (Tranquil Springs, or Safe Town for instance). You really don’t want to have to explain the embarrassing phenomenon of having all your data locations wiped out by one catastrophe. That would be like locking all your spare keys in one car. Shameful.
That said, you should still have some versions of your data on-site and/or nearby in case you need a non-disaster related recovery. After all, most data restores are not prompted by disaster.
Well, it has been busy lately and that has certainly kept my blog posting to a minimum. I would be very concerned about that if I had a bunch of anxious readers. Fortunately (or unfortunately), that is not currently an issue.
Anyway, this one is a little something for all the tree-huggers out there. I can call them that because I have been known to cuddle with a tree or two myself. I particularly enjoy birch hugging as the bark is pleasantly smooth . . . but I digress.
Data backup is, by its nature, not a very “green” undertaking. Computers and data storage require a great deal of energy to run, and while large data centers have some alternative energy options, it is difficult for the average user to make their backup environmentally responsible. However, there are a few things you can do to decrease the carbon footprint of your backup, and one of these involves taking advantage of power options.
If you have a business and are backing up a substantial amount of data, you are probably scheduling that backup to run overnight. This way the backup processing doesn’t interfere with any day to day functions. In order to run this overnight backup, your computer has to remain on throughout the night. Even if the backup only takes an hour or two, your computer will sit there sucking electricity until you return. Then, more work, another overnight backup and more work again. The computer is always on except for a brief restart when Windows sends one of its annoying updates.
This is where power options come in handy. If your backup software provides power options, you can set your computer to “Shut Down”, “Sleep” or “Hibernate” automatically after your backup completes. That way, instead of running all night and steadily sipping at our dwindling oil reserves, your computer will slip into pleasant and ecologically beneficially dreams. It might also save you a few pennies on your electric bill.
As a side note, I’m not sure exactly what the difference between “Sleep” and “Hibernate” is, but I’d stick with “Sleep” on the off chance “Hibernate” will make you wait until spring to boot up.
For talking about:
Does everyone out there have power options on their backup software? Do you use them? Does someone want to tell me the difference between “Sleep” and “Hibernate” before I am forced to actually look it up?