Backup Simplicity...

Last weekend I did a show on backing up your CAD data and the methodology of 3-2-1 backup.

I talked about my method of backup that I use for a number of our server since we have multiple sites and can build in some offsite storage.  I also expressed my distain for backup tools that create the "blob backup" file that requires an application to navigate the backup and restore a file.  Because of this, I use Robocopy, which is now built into Windows.

Over the past week I have received a few requests of a simple backup script to grab a folder and copy it to another location and make sure that the copy is a mirror of the source so I thought I would share.  To add the automatic component I simply use Windows Task Scheduler so I can "Set it and forget it...".

Robocopy Backup Script:

@ECHO OFF
SET prefix="server_backup"
SET source_dir="C:\CAD Data"
SET log_filename=%prefix%.log
SET dest_dir="C:/backup"
SET options="/MIR /LOG:%log_filename%"
ROBOCOPY %source_dir% %dest_dir% %options%
:END

 In Windows7 and Windows Server 2008, Robocopy is installed by default but you will need to install it in XP or Server 2003.  You can avoid creating a *.BAT file with the above script by simply using the Windows Task Scheduler by using the "Add arguments" area when creating an action to run.  Personally I like being able to edit the script in a text editor, especially if I decide to get creative and want to add a few areas to the script.

This script is simple, fast and I can browse the backups and they are a complete mirror of my original data.  If you have variants of similar methods, share them in the comments!  NOW GO BACKUP YOUR STUFF! ~Lou

SkyDrive, and WebDAV, and Explorer, OH MY!

Microsoft SkyDrive, a free 25GB cloud storage offering in the Windows Live suite, has two major issues when it comes to mass user adoption:

  1. The file size limit is 50MB per file
  2. No direct integration inside Windows Explorer

Although the 50MB file limit is still a controlling factor, the ability to integrate it into Windows Explorer has finally made it to the scene. There are some third party solutions (Gladinet and SD Explorer) but they come at a price and act as middleware between Windows and your hosted storage.

With the release of Microsoft Office 2010, many beta-testers and early adopters have noticed in the new File Menu (Backstage View) a new option under "Save & Send" called Save to Web.  This new option allows a user to enter their Windows Live ID and connect directly to the SkyDrive storage, revealing the WebDAV address.  This address can then be copied from the "Save As" dialog and used to map a drive to your computer.

With SkyDrive now mapped locally, all of your applications are able to access and save directly to it (as long as your files are smaller than 50MB each!)  There are reports that Microsoft is working on integrating SkyDrive into Windows, along with other offerings within their web strategy (Mesh, Windows Live, Azure).

For detailed instructions on acquiring the WebDAV address from Microsoft Office 2010, visit Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows article.  Paul details out a few aspects of other third party tools and how to map SkyDrive and link your Windows 7 login to with your Windows Live ID. 

For those of you who do not have Office 2010 and want to still map to your SkyDrive, you can go to Mike Plate's article who wrote a little application to uncover the WebDAV address directly.  I actually tried it out and it works great!  If you want to avoid the install of his "SkyDrive Simple Viewer" you can build the address from the URL in your browser's address bar once you are logged into SkyDrive by following the steps in this post on the Live community.

This is a lot of free storage and as CAD users we are always looking for ways to store data.  I hope to see Microsoft remove the 50MB file limit since that is easy to breach when working with parametric data! ~Lou