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Desktop Backup Policies

Computing Services provides members of the Dartmouth community with the opportunity to back up their desktop or laptop computers (clients) to a central tape unit located in Baker/Berry.

Computers Eligible to Be Backed Up

  • Clients must be running Mac OS X, Windows XP Professional, or Windows Vista.
  • Computers of current Dartmouth faculty or staff located on campus and owned by Dartmouth.
  • Clients that want to be backed up must have network adapters set to 100 MB Ethernet fixed, and have auto-negotiating turned off and preferably set to Full Duplex. A client computer will not be backed up if it is using the wireless network.

Backup Schedule

  • The standard backup cycle consists of two parts: The first backup is a full backup (Macintosh computers continue to have a full backup each month), all other backups are incremental backups copying over only those files that have changed since the last backup.
  • For Windows users, backups can be scheduled daily or set to occur when a file changes. Macintosh computers are backed up daily.  
  • For Macintosh computers, daily reports of successes and failures are e-mailed to the department's representative; for Windows computers, each user can review their backup history using the NetBackup client software to verify they have been backed up.

Data Retention

  • Full backups are retained for one year from the date of creation.
  • For Macintosh computers, daily incremental backups are retained for nine weeks from the date of creation.
  • For Windows computers, incremental backups are maintained on the server for three months, then written to a tape that is retained for one year.

Data Restoration

  • Individuals with Administrator or Root privileges for a desktop computer are able to restore information from backups of less than three months.
  • Department heads can request to have a file restored for any computer in their department by contacting their department's computing support office or the Computing Help Desk.
  • If a computer is destroyed or stolen, Computing Services will, upon receipt of written authorization from the department head, restore data to a new client.
  • Tapes are stored in the central facility for three months. This normally allows for restoration of lost files during the same business day.
  • After three months, the tapes are removed and stored in a secure area. Technical Services Operations will normally restore lost files by the next business day.

Security and Disaster Recovery

  • Backup tapes and systems are kept in locked and monitored, secure rooms.
  • Backup data is transferred to tape in such a manner as to prevent reading by unauthorized systems.
  • Encryption of data by the client on the tape can be requested, but it will make restores when the hard disk is missing or broken much more complicated.
  • To allow for recovery in case of fire or flooding in the building, the tapes and tape drives are located in a secure location.
  • This program does not constitute a Disaster Recovery Policy or Plan.

 Configuration and Additional Charges

  • The network link from the client to the backup servers must be at least 100 MB.
  • Backups and restores from off campus are blocked.
  • Backups and restores from the wireless network are blocked.
  • Clients that are unusually slow as a result of user-controllable problems will be asked to have these problems fixed.
  • Additional questions are answered on the Frequently Asked Questions About Desktop Backups Web page.

03/04/08

Last Updated: 3/6/08