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There are a myriad of software options out there to back up Exchange and any other type of database.

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Of course the correct answer is to prevent Exchange from failing in the first place. You could cluster servers or use a fail-over system. But if you budget doesn’t stretch that far, then you need a restore solution. I say ‘restore’ because anyone can backup, all we are interested in is restoring, right?

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So now you go and buy a tape drive, tapes and backup software. This lot could easily cost you £2K for a typical small business solution.

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Or.. You could use our FREE software (which doesn’t require any hardware) and you backup to our N+1 data centres in the UK. All you pay for is the data you backup to us.

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This is how we do it for you.

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1. We remote onto your server and install our software for you.

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2. We set up the Exchange backup on the mailstore and the mailboxes.

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>The mailstore backup is a full backup designed for full disaster recovery situations and contains not only your emails, but also your Exchange configuration such as distribution lists and auto attendants.

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>The mailbox backup is more of a day-to-day backup and allows you to quickly restore single emails in a few mouse clicks.

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3. We perform a test restore.

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4. We configure the backup schedules and retention periods to suit your business requirements. We can backup Exchange once a day or once every 5 minutes if you prefer.

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Future backups will only backup the modified data you have created, which keeps your costs down and restore times as fast as possible.

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Now that’s sorted you can relax knowing you never have to change a tape again or worry about your Exchange backups. Now you can spend that £2K on something useful!

Bare metal restore support was embedded into Microsoft’s release of Windows 2008. The tool used is called ‘WBAdmin’ and works from the command line.

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In our experience it takes a bit of practice to restore perfectly and it’s also important to find a suitable disk (we had issues with some USB disks). One of the bugs we found is posted here https://www.openticket.eu/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=5

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Once running and tested it gives great peace-of-mind to the Sys Admin. Imagine being able to restore a failed server with Exchange and SQL in a few hours. If you had to install from scratch and restore from tape that could take even the most experienced Sys Admin up to 24 hours.

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Here at WorldBackups.net we have added the functionality for bare metal restores in version 3.2 which we released in June 2010. Now not only can you back up your server to a local disk you can also back it up online to our UK based data centre. That should protect you from fire and theft!

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All of our software is free and you only pay for data you back up to us http://worldbackups.net/pro_user.php .

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Feel free to download the latest version of our software and contact us if you need help to set it up.

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Different online backup providers provide different features and customers’ requirements vary. The ultimate decision depends on the features the customer requires. To help you work out which company will offer you the best service we have listed a few considerations that are a ‘must ask’.

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1. Select your back up solution carefully, time spent now evaluating the services on offer will pay dividends when you need to restore.

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2. Anyone can backup but only heroes can restore!! It’s an old cliché but rings true every time. Make sure the solution allows you to restore your files and databases easily and quickly.

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3. Don’t think about ‘how do I back up’, think about ‘how do I restore’?

a. Look at it this way… if you back up 500GB of data online and you need to restore it following a disaster, that will take 5 days on a fast 10MB internet    connection.

b. If the service provider hosts their servers behind a link that is slower than yours, you could be waiting a lot longer for the restore to complete.

c. Ideally the service provider should own all of their own servers and have a dedicated rack or suite of racks. That way they can access your data directly and courier it back to you in a timely fashion rather than waiting for an restore over the Internet.

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4. Can the service provider install the software remotely on your server or desktop. Exchange, Active Directory and SQL databases can be difficult to back up on any platform. Do you want to struggle with software you have never seen before? If they can’t help here, will they help when you need to restore?

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5. Will the service provider allow you to back up any size and type of file?

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6. Will the service provider retain your data for longer than 30 days?

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7. Are there hidden charges for agents or a long term contract?

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8. Don’t be fooled by gimmicks such as a million pound insurance guarantee. Will the insurance company really pay off your mortgage and buy you a Ferrari if you can’t restore your iTunes?

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9. You could try asking your independent IT Support Company, chances are they will already use and trust an online backup service they can recommend and implement for you.

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10. Perform a test restore every six weeks.

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One last thing…. make sure you can restore your data!

Restoring single emails.

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Most IT Admins will only ever have to restore single emails or occasionally an entire mailbox. How does WorldBackups.net achieve this?

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WorldBackups.net allows you to restore an email or mailbox as a PST so it can be attached directly into Outlook, or if you are using Exchange the restore will go straight back into the mailstore.

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With version 3.2 we launched our new portal which allows you to restore a PST and download it directly to your desktop without having access to the original machine. Within a few minutes you can get an email back from any point in time.

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Imagine if you had to find that tape from 3 years ago!

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Security notes

You should ensure all logon information is sent to us in a secure way.

We recommend you create a temporary account for us to connect with. The account requires Administrator equivalent privileges on your domain and local server.

After the WorldBackups.net support staff have finished resolving your issue, disable or delete the temporary account. Also restrict RDP access or close TeamViewer.

We are NOT responsible in any way for the misuse of logon information.

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Connecting using RDP
Please provide us with the IP address of your server and the account ID and password of the Windows user.

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Connecting using TeamViewer

Logon the Windows user account you have provided.

Download the remote agent from this site http://www.teamviewer.com/download/TeamViewerQS.exe.
Run the application (no need to install) and provide us with the Session ID and Password.

We will also need the account ID and password of the Windows user.

Bare Metal Restore of Windows 2008, Windows 7 and Windows Vista. WorldBackups.net can back up the entire image of machines running Windows 7, Windows 2008 & Windows Vista Business (Enterprise, and Ultimate editions). The backed up image can be restored to the same machine or to a machine with very similar hardware as the original machine.

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Exchange Server 2010 Backup.WorldBackups.net can now back up an Exchange 2010 mailstore and mailboxes. This is the first version of WorldBackups to use VSS to back up Exchange, previously ESE API was used.

SharePoint Server Backup. WorldBackups.net can now back up the site collections of SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

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SQL 2008 back up. WorldBackups.net can now back up MS SQL 2008 databases.

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Backup and Restore from local drives. WorldBackups.net can now back up to a local drive and also restore from it without having to connect to an online backup server.

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How to upgrade

You can download the update from here (do not uninstall your current version).

Or we can upgrade your installation free-of-charge. Click here to view our article on how we will connect to your server.

Perform a backup and test restore.

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Further support is available within your local client >> help > user guide.

We know servers don’t always fail during office hours, which is why we are now rolling out 24 x 7 support to all partners at no extra charge.

In order to access the system, you will need to be registered on our new support helpdesk.

How to register

• You can register in one of 3 ways
  • As an individual
  • As an individual within your company with the abilty to view all of your company’s tickets – recommended option
    
  • One single account for use by all of the staff in your company
• To register, please send an email to partner@worldbackups.net
• Please note you will need to register before you can use the system, and registration requests will only be processed during normal working hours

Logging a fault call

• Send an email to wb-support@openticket.eu (registration required first)
  

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• Log onto our portal and submit your ticket from there. You can also view all of your tickets. https://www.openticket.eu/?group=worldbackups

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To improve the experience, you need a reliable and robust solution that is designed to support the transfer of large volumes of data. The primary activity that needs to ensure data is transferred with no packet loss across the Internet is dependable servers at the provider’s end.

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You need to have a user-friendly interface, if the interface can be accessed via a browser based window, that is an added advantage. Our user friendly interface also includes features like email capability, password protection; file sharing with other users, etc.

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Your online backup service provider should be able to guarantee the security of your data. WorldBackups.net uses 64 to 448 bit non-reversible encryption for data encryption and is replicated across fault tolerant servers for added security.

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When you have signed up with an online backup service, you will need technical support. It is important that the provider has quick response time and excellent online customer support. In addition to this, you should also have clarity on your account services and billing details. You need to be aware of the termination periods for software and hardware installation and the billing cycle.

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Using WorldBackups for your online backup solution you have a choice. ‘Do I back up the entire mailstore or just the mailboxes?‘

Well..  Do you need to back up the entire mailstore? Only if you think you might lose it! With modern and reliable server hardware, RAID and virtualisation, total server outages are becoming scarcer. But on the increase are employee maliciousness (especially when they leave) and compliance laws governing how long you have to retain your company’s emails for.

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With WorldBackups you can restore a single email easily by simply dragging and dropping single emails from a restored PST. Nice and simple, no need to restore and mount an entire mailstore.

If you have a dispute that can be answered from a previous email which has been deleted by an outgoing member of staff, you can easily get it back from WorldBackups.

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Don’t forget we allow unlimited data retention, not just 30 days!!!

1. You can password protect your backups with most third party backup applications. Most SYS Admins however choose not to because they see no reason to do so or they are worried they might forget the password.

2. So backup tapes will never fall into the wrong hands? What are the wrong hands? External criminals or internal nuisances trying to look at the wages spreadsheet?

3. Is the right person tasked with taking the backup tapes off-site? Is the odd tape left at home or in his car? Would you be as easy going if your company’s data was floating around on unencrypted DVDs or USB sticks?

4. Do tapes always work? Are the backup logs checked every day? Do you perform test restores? What happens during holidays and weekends?

5. How many versions can you keep of your data? Online backups from WorldBackups.net will store your revisions for as long as you want.

Now let’s look at the features and benefits of online backups from WorldBackups.net

Automation

1. With online backups from WorldBackups.net you don’t have to worry about tape changes.

2. You can run jobs whenever you like, safe in the knowledge you don’t have to be around to change tapes for the nightly backup. With one simple non-reversible password, your data is secure.

Costs. Tapes versus WorldBackups.net

Tape - You have the outlay of tapes, drives and software. A typical small biz solution for 10 users with 50GB of data would cost approx. £1,500 to £2,000 for the software, drive and 30 tapes.

WorldBackups.net - An online 50GB backup would compress to approx. 20GB and cost a lot less - click for prices. Plus you won’t ever have to upgrade your backup solution again because our software is free.

Security

All WorldBackups.net backups can be encrypted (not even we can access your data without the password).

Durable backups

Your data will be stored in a minimum of two facilities.

Simplicity

WorldBackups backs up all versions of Windows, Exchange and SQL using wizards.