By Wally Johnson
Created on 8/19/2002

This document was written to assist Librarians in creating a usable backup of their Alexandria data and any other valuable information that may be contained in the Alexandria v5 folder on their data station. This document was created for Macintosh users only; Windows users should see the document titled Tech Note 16, "Creating a Backup of Alexandria's Data for Windows Users."

The Purpose of Backing up data

In explaining the process of creating a backup, it is important to explain both the need for a backup and proper use of a backup.

Whenever you have data that you wish to preserve, there is a need to create an effective and efficient backup procedure. There are several ways to lose your data including: data corruption; hardware failure; incorrect modifications through utilities; to natural disasters such as fire, flood, or theft. Anytime there is a chance of losing your data, you should create a backup. This includes: creating a backup prior to running a utility or update; nightly backups to record daily transactions and weekly backups you store off site in the case of natural disaster or theft.

The second chapter of your Alexandria user's manual deals exclusively with creating a back up strategy. The reason this information was placed at the beginning of the book is that it is the single most important thing you can do to keep your library up and running.

As suggested by the manual, it is recommended that you create at least three backups: two that remain on site and one that is kept in a different location. All three should have separate schedules. Bear in mind that in addition to having separate sources, the reason for keeping three backups is so that you can recover from various times in your data's history. This adds an additional dimension to your backups; you now have the ability to recover if the problem occurred yesterday or even if it occurred weeks ago. A well thought out backup schedule should allow for daily back ups which are kept for a whole week, weekly back ups that are kept for a whole month and monthly back ups that are kept for a whole year. A back up plan such as this should also accommodate changes that may need to be made throughout the day.

Backup Media

When selecting a backup media, a variety of factors should be taken into account. Factors to consider include: reliability; compatibility; usefulness and cost.

Reliability should be the first consideration. The question should always be asked, "Does the backup media provide a reliable source from which you can recover?" For example, if you purchase a tape drive, you should be aware that tapes will wear out with use, and will need to be replaced. Reliability also takes into account other problems such as device failure. If you are backing up to a server and the server is regularly unavailable due to maintenance issues, then that server is not a reliable backup, and another media should be considered.

Compatibility encompasses system requirements and your needs both present and future. A good example of how compatibility will affect your decision is the case of the Zip drive.

If you are purchasing a Zip drive, you should be aware that there are four types of Zip drives. The types are broken down by two categories: supported disk size and supported connections.

There are two sizes of Zip disk available, 100 MB and 250 MB. A Zip drive that supports the 250 MB disk size will also support disks of the 100 MB size; 100 MB Zip drives support only 100 MB disks. While the 100 MB disks and Zip drives cost less, you should consider the possibility that some day your data may not fit on a 100 MB Zip disk.

There are also two types of connections for Zip drives: USB and serial. Serial Zip drives are cheaper, but they transfer data slower than USB Zip drives. In purchasing a Zip drive you must consider the connections that are available on your computer. For example, if you were purchasing a Zip drive for a Macintosh, you must remember to check out your computers available ports; iMac's come equipped with USB ports only, where some of the older G3's come with serial ports only. In such a case it is important to remember if you upgrade your computer, you may need to upgrade your Zip drive. Most Windows machines come equipped with both USB and serial connections and have a third option of installing the drive internally.

Compatibility also takes into account the need for exchanging data with other machines. Occasionally, the Technical Support Department may request a copy of your data. Sometimes the easiest way to send your data is to create a backup and mail it to us. If your backup is on magnetic reels, we may not be able to read it. The media we recommend for sending in data on are CD's, Zip disks or Jazz disks. If you have another type of media, please inform the technician to see if accommodations can be made or if you will need to transfer your data to one of the above mentioned media types.

Usefulness includes ensuring that the backup will be available when you need it. If your technology department sets up an automatic backup to a tape drive, but only your technology department has access to it, then the tape backup is not very useful, because it is not available when you need it.

Cost is a consideration in any library. Everyone wants to get as much for their money as they can. When considering cost, try to think long term. While a Zip drive may be cheaper than a CD burner, you will need to purchase Zip disks. If you are keeping seven daily copies, plus, four weekly copies, plus a copy for each month, the money you saved on the Zip drive is quickly spent on Zip disks. You may also consider the fact that Zip disks and drives will wear out sooner than a CD burner. When considering a CD burner, keep in mind that a CD burner can burn a permanent copy, but it takes longer to copy to CD. Your time is valuable, so a system that creates a backup quickly may be worthwhile, like a portable hard drive. Whatever you decide make sure that you meet the criteria of keeping three separate backups on three separate schedules.

Keeping three backups may require using more than one media type. You may choose to backup to a local server and to a Zip drive. Please ensure that you have immediate access to at least one of these sources.

Backing Up

Your entire collection including items, patron and circulation information is contained in the Data folder, which is located in the Alexandria v5 Folder. By default, the Alexandria v5 Folder is found just inside your Macintosh Hard Drive on the Data Station.

NOTE: IN VERSIONS BEFORE 5.43, THE DATA FOLDER WAS CALLED ALEXANDRIA DATA.

Please follow these instructions to create a backup:

Go to the Data Station.

Quit Alexandria.

Open your Macintosh Hard Drive.

Open the Alexandria v5 Folder.

Hold down the Option Key and drag the Data folder to your storage media.

NOTE: HOLDING DOWN THE OPTION KEY WILL COPY THE DATA TO THE MEDIA RATHER THAN MOVING IT THERE. THE SAME OPERATION CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED BY HIGHLIGHTING THE DATA, CLICKING DUPLICATE UNDER THE FILE MENU, THEN DRAGGING THE DUPLICATE COPY OF THE DATA FOLDER TO THE STORAGE MEDIA.

Other folders that you may consider backing up include the Log folder and the Bulletin Board folder. The Log folder contains text file logs of all actions and transactions done in Alexandria. The Bulletin Board folder contains all the maps and bulletin board items.

NOTE: WHILE YOU MAY BACK UP THE ENTIRE ALEXANDRIA V5 FOLDER, THE NECESSARY INFORMATION IS CONTAINED IN THE DATA FOLDER. SOME ADMINISTRATORS LIKE TO KEEP A BACKUP COPY OF THE PROGRAM. THIS IS NOT NECESSARY AS THE ENTIRE ALEXANDRIA PROGRAM CAN BE REPLACED, AND THE LATEST VERSION OF THE APPLICATION IS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEBSITE OR CAN BE MAILED OUT ON CD. ONCE AGAIN, THE ONLY CRITICAL INFORMATION IS CONTAINED IN THE DATA FOLDER.

Alternative Method for Backing Up

Some networks are set up in such a way that the Data Station is unavailable to the librarian. In such cases, the Data Station is running at all times. Because the Data folder will be locked and is inaccessible during operation, an alternative method may be used to create a backup.

To create a backup with the Data Station still running:

Go to Edit and then Preferences.

Click on Administration to activate the pull-down menu, and then click on Archive.

Click on the Archive Now button to create a new archive.

Go to the drive where Alexandria is installed.

Open the Alexandria v5 Folder.

Open the Archive folder.

An Archive with today's date will be inside this folder, the folder's name will be in the following format: Archive YYYYMMDD TTTT.

Copy the newest archive to your storage media.

NOTE: IN MOST CASES, THIS PROCEDURE IS DONE USING FILE SHARING OVER YOUR NETWORK. IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO COPY THE FILE TO YOUR COMPUTER FIRST AND THEN TO THE STORAGE MEDIA.

NOTE: IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS ON BACKING UP YOUR DATA, PLEASE REFER TO THE SECTION OF YOUR MANUAL TITLED BACKING UP YOUR DATA, OR CALL TECHNICAL SUPPORT AT (800) 347-4942.