Download AMOS System Operator`s Guide

SECTION 3 - CHAPTER 4
BACKING UP YOUR DATA
Backing up the data on your disks is probably the most important job of the System Operator.
You should make regular backups as part of your daily or weekly routine. How often you back
up your system will depend on how often the data on your system changes significantly—for
some systems, this will be every day, for others it might be once a month.
Alpha Micro offers a number of different media on which you can back up your system—floppy
disks, VCR tapes, magnetic tape, etc. By using the Task Manager, you can even automate
your backup procedure.
No matter what type of backup media you have on your system, there is a single set of
commands you use to back up and restore file on your system. See the BACKUP, RESTOR,
and BAKDIR command reference sheets in your System Commands Reference Manual for
information about what can be done, and how.
In this chapter, we are going to discuss the theory of backing up your system, and give you
some information on how to make the backup procedure easier and more efficient.
4.1Why Should You Back Up Data?
Your data is very important to you. No matter how good your computer hardware is, or
how well you install and use your software, sometimes things go wrong. Your disk
could become corrupted, someone on your system could enter the wrong command and
delete important files, a fire could damage your computer, etc. Backing up your data is
a safeguard against data loss.
4.2Hints On Data Backup
Alpha Micro provides many ways to back up data—on floppy disks, VCR tapes,
magnetic tape, etc. No matter what kind of media you have chosen to back up your
data with, there are a few things you should keep in mind:
Back up often! How often you back up your data will depend on how often you
enter new data, or update old data, on your system. It is a good idea, however, to
back up your system after every important update of data. For some systems, this
may mean every evening, for others, once a week, etc.
You can usually make your backup operation much easier by automating it.
AMOS has powerful command files that make repetitive tasks easy. And there is
the Task Manager, Alpha Micro’s background batch processor, that can run a job
System Operator’s Guide, Rev. 00