Online Storage Backup Systems
CIS 512
8 June 2012

Table of contents

Executive Summary…………………………………………………..3
Background…………………………………………………………..4
Current State of Technology…………………………………………7
Report of this Research………………………………………………9
Summary…………………………………………………………….11
References…………………………………………………………...12

Executive Summary
Everything we do today in our private lives and in the business world has moved online. The amounts of data stored have increased exponentially over the years. The need for reliable data storage has also increased over the years. The media and methods in which we store our data has become as important as any other technology. As technology has advanced, more and more data is being stored and having reliable means of storage has become a challenge that IT professionals will continue to deal with in the future. In this paper, I will outline the different types of backups that have been used over the years. I will talk about how data backup and storage has move to an online arena. Finally I will talk about cloud storage and cloud computing. I will discuss how cloud computing will become the future of how we operate in the online world.

Background
The need for backing up data has existed for as long as we have been using computers. When we first started using computers, data was stored on floppy disks or tape drives. In the beginning the amounts of data being stored were relatively small. Floppy disks and tape drives provided a sufficient amount of space to store the amounts of data being produced. Over the years, technology has evolved and the amounts of data have increased. As the world moves closer and closer to being completely online, the need for online data storage has increased. The way that we store, share, and manipulate data has pushed the field towards developing new technologies in online storage. Every year more and more data is created and it has become important for people to have a place to store data that is safe and reliable. The amounts and importance of the data that is stored on networks has also increased and this has driven the need for better storage media, because loss of data has become more and more critical. This background will discuss the history of data storage and backup, the problem of data loss, and the way forward in online backup and storage.
Data storage dates all the way back to the beginning of the digital age when data was stored on punch cards and tapes. “In 1951, the first generation of digital computing appeared when the UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer) was built by Mauchly and Eckert. It used vacuum tubes as main logic elements, rotating magnetic drums for internal storage of data and programs and punch cards to input and externally store data.” (Yurin) Back then, obviously, the amount of data was a lot smaller.
Over time, magnetic tapes and tape backup started to be used. “Big and small companies and even some home users began to create tape backups. The first backup traditions and strategies started to arise in early 1960. Tape backups were the most widespread, because of tape drive’s reliability, scalability and low cost. All these advantages make tape backup an attractive solution even today.” (Yurin) Tape backups are a convenient way to store data when you need something cheap. It is not a very fast option, but when you have data that is critical or needs to be stored off-site, this can be an attractive option.
As, computing evolved and the need for home solutions increased, hard drives became the preferred method for storage. At first hard drive storage was too expensive to be used for backups because it was too expensive. Because of its speed, it was a viable option for local storage but when the need for mass storage existed, tape storage was still a cheaper solution. Over time, hard drive storage has become cheaper and the size of hard drives has increased that it became a viable solution for local storage and backups.
The next big trend in storage media did not have to do with the size or cost, it had more to do with portability. Floppy disks evolved into CDs and Blu-Ray discs, and flash drives became a big player in storage. This was due largely to the popularity of audio and video. As storage media got bigger, people began to store music, video and pictures more and more. People also wanted to bring that media with them. With flash drives, people are able to carry their data with them. This also drove the development of other portable devices that allowed people to access their portable data.
As the possibilities continued to develop for digital media, the size of the files also grew. The amount of data stored by a single individual at home is now more than an entire company would store years ago. This drove the need for online storage. Organizations and even home users started to use Network attached storage (NAS) and Storage area networks (SAN) to store large amounts of data.
As the amount of data we store grows, the need for reliable storage grows. It can be catastrophic for a company to lose all of their data. According to a study by David Smith “a company that experiences a computer outage lasting for more than 10 days will never fully recover financially and that 50 percent of companies suffering such a predicament will be out of business within 5 years.” (Smith, 2003)The chart below shows the causes of data loss This shows that it was imperative in the field, to develop more reliable means of storing data. A company simple will not survive if they lose all of their data.
The answer to the problem is to move data storage online. Many companies now host online storage services. For a company, it is smarter to move their data to online storage, insure it, and pay someone else to store and safeguard their data. This ensures that they are protected from data loss and guarantees access to larger storage space. With online storage a company has unlimited space and total protection from loss. In the paper I will highlight where the field is now as it pertains to online storage and the way ahead for online storage and cloud computing.
Current State of Technology
Over 32% of the world’s population is on the internet. That is over 2 billion people. ("Internet growth statistics,") With that number growing every day, there is a huge need for data storage. Many companies have turned to third party providers for their data backup needs. Many companies now offer online solutions for data backup. Data integrity has become so important for companies that they need to have a reputable storage solution so that their data does not become compromised. In this section we will discuss the current state of data backup. We will look at a few of the different offerings in the market today, and look at the reasons why a company needs to go with online backup service.
A simple Google search reveals an overwhelming amount of companies who specialize in online data storage. It is clear that this new trend has pushed many companies to try to cash in on this ever growing need to store data. The cost of these services can range anywhere from $10 to hundreds of dollars monthly. The reliability offered can make it a worthwhile choice for data storage. However, just because you store your data online does not mean it is completely safe. According to an article in PCWorld “Servers crash and companies go out of business, both without warning. Never trust an online storage service with the only copy of your vital data. Also, while all of these services take measures to lock down your data, the privacy and security of your files is ultimately up to you. Be sure to encrypt all files holding personal data, and plan for the day your online files disappear.” (Jacobi, 2006)
There are quite a few options for different companies to go with for online storage. There are many companies such as Mozy that allow you to upload you to upload your files to an online storage location. You pay for an amount of storage space and can access your files at any time. Another type of option is a service such as Streamload Mediamix. This service allows you to store music video and photos. This service would be more suited to the home user as oppose to a company. With this service, instead of pulling the files down from the server when you need them, you are able to stream the data. This way you don’t actually need to have the same amount of storage space on your home PC. With more and more people using the internet and their computer for their entertainment needs, this service could be very helpful so that you don’t have to spend a lot of money on hard drive space for your PC.
Big businesses nowadays are also looking for ways to store their data online. This can be very important since the information that a company is storing may contain people’s personal data, trade secrets of the company, and financial data for the company and its clients. Some of the same companies that offer backup service to individuals will also offer services to large companies. The only problem so far that has yet to be completely resolved is that obviously the larger the company, the more data it is going to need to store. The pricing schemes are more geared towards the individual user, so it can become very expensive for a larger company. Since we are still in the early stages of this level of computing power, it may be difficult to convince an executive of the need to spend large amounts of money backing up data. According to ComputerWorld, “Analysts said they expect corporate interest in hosted backup systems to grow as major storage vendors enter the business and work to allay user concerns about pricing and bandwidth.” (Fonseca, 2008) The problem with bandwidth is that, since the backup service is online, it becomes necessary for the company at some point to upload the data to the site. For large amounts of data, this can take up a lot of time and use up a lot of resources. It is helpful if the company is able to do the upload at a time when it won’t affect users on its network. Another fix for this problem is to do incremental backups, where instead of backing up all the data every time, just the files that have changed or been added will be uploaded. This will cut down on the time it takes and also ensure that there won’t be any disruption to the rest of the network.
Report of this research
Online storage is definitely something that will continue to develop. The way ahead for this type of service is going to be in cloud computing. In this section we will discuss what cloud computing is and how it will change the way we store data as well as how we operate.
It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between online storage and cloud storage. So we will start with definitions and differences between the two and then move into cloud computing. With online storage, a user uploads data to an online service and that service provider stores the data for you. With cloud storage, the provider allocates certain resources for the user to access. So for example, if the user has 5GB of cloud storage, they will be able to access that storage and to the user it will look like they have a 5G hard drive on that site. Their 5GB of data may actually be spread across multiple servers, but to them it will look like they have one physical entity that they are accessing. Cloud computing, on the other hand, presents an entirely new way of operating online. With cloud computing, instead of just our data being stored online, all of our applications can be online as well as all of our resources. In this case we could operate completely online and have access to a pool of resources.
So, to give an example, a user may get online and access not only their documents, but also utilize an online program that allows them to create new documents and manipulate those files. This will mean that others can be on different systems and access the same files also. A user could also access music files online and stream them on their machine instead of playing them on their own computer. The same could be said for movies and other types of media. This could, in the future be very beneficial. For example, if I wanted to listen to a popular song, I could stream it and have access to play that song whenever I want. Since many people will want to play that song, it could mean that there won’t be a need to store that song multiple times for every user that purchases access to the same song.
The analogy has been made that cloud computing is similar or the same as the old mainframes that used to be used years ago. There are many arguments for and against this comparison. On one hand the feeling is the same to the user. They are using a terminal to access resources that are physically somewhere else. The difference however is that with cloud computing the resources are not necessarily in one central location. They may be scattered across the world. Another distinction is that when mainframes were used, there was a lack of resources to go around. That is why there were mainframes. Not everyone got to have their own computer so they shared the resources of one system. With cloud computing, there is an overabundance of system resources, so to be able to harness the power of all those resources will produce results that we have not even started to fathom.
Another interesting concept that comes about with cloud computing is that people may not accept the fact that they do not own the resources they are accessing. Over the last couple decades, people have become very much attached to their PC. Whether it is a laptop or desktop, there are people who are literally physically attached to their system at all times. The success or failure of cloud computing will depend on whether we as a society can learn to share resources and use system resources to their fullest potential. According to an article by Dan Sung, “The lines have begun to blur as to what you own, where you own it and just how much you have to pay for the privilege to do so” (Sung, 2012)
Summary
In this paper I have discussed the different types of storage and backups that have been used over the years. Storage and backups have been driven over the years by two main things, cost and amount of data. As the amounts of data increased, so does the cost. This is why companies started to offer online backups and storage. Cloud computing will continue to develop and be the next big trend in the online world. As the technology develops, new companies will emerge that will offer customers online experiences that will offer all of their media and applications to be accessible at one online location as oppose to their own personal computer.

References
Fonseca, B. (2008, February 4). Corporate it warms up to online backup services. Retrieved from http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/311920/Corporate_IT_Warms_Up_to_Online_Backup_Services
Internet growth statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm
Jacobi, J. (2006, June 2). Store it on the web. Retrieved from http://www.pcworld.com/article/125729-3/store_it_on_the_web.html
Smith, D. (2003). The cost of lost data. Graziado Business Review, 6(3), Retrieved from http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/the-cost-of-lost-data/
Sung, D. (2012, April 26). Apple icloud vs google vs amazon cloud drive vs dropbox vs microsoft skydrive. Retrieved from http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/40364/icloud-google-music-dropbox-skydrive-amazon-cloud-player
Yurin, M. (n.d.). The history of backup. Retrieved from http://www.backuphistory.com/
Read the Green Computing Research Project, Part 2 in Appendix C. Document the requirements and develop a scope statement.