Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
good time to think about not only new things you can buy, but
numerous other factors too. To wit:
•
What are your current data and storage media figures?
You selected backup methods and storage media based partly on
how much data you have to back up (consult
Decide on Capacity
).
Data inevitably grows over time, so if you haven't recently done
so, check to see how much data you have to back up. Then make
sure your media still has enough breathing room to accommodate
your needs over the next year or so—and if not, look into moving
up to something with higher capacity. You might also think about
whether your data is likely to grow at a faster rate. For example,
since our son was born three years ago, the number of photos and
videos we record has increased dramatically (and they're bigger,
too, thanks to our new, higher-resolution digital cameras).
•
Do you have any new equipment?
Related to the last point,
maybe you've purchased a new Mac since last year (including a
larger internal hard drive, no doubt)—or maybe you've upgraded
your digital camera, bought an iOS device or two, or added a second
hard drive. Whatever the case, take all these into account when
calculating how much space you'll need for backups.
•
Have you upgraded to a new version of Mac OS X?
Lion
added new backup-related features (see the sidebar
Version
Control
), and Mountain Lion made still more changes, such as
allowing multiple Time Machine destinations. So the range of
hardware and software options you might consider may change.
•
How old is your media?
The physical media on which you
store your backups—whether that's optical discs, hard drives, or
something else—is subject to degradation and data loss over time.
If your media is older than a few years or so, strongly consider
copying your backups onto fresh new media—and you'll probably
want to upgrade to higher-capacity storage in the process.
•
Are online backups more—or less—viable than before?
Increases in bandwidth and decreases in price may lead you to
reconsider online backups (see
Use an Internet Backup Service
)
