When should I swap the backup disk on my Zybert server?
Swapping the backup disk raisesseveral questions:
- How often to swap
- Where to store the backup disk(s)
- When to swap the disk
How often should the disk be swapped?
If you produce a considerable amount of data each day, it makes sense to swapthe disk every day. If you produce small amounts of data each day then you may be comfortablewith swapping the disk once a week. It is important to remember that in the event of a disaster (such as fire or flood) the point in timeto which your system is restored, will be the time when you last swapped it.
Where to store the backup disk(s)
The Zybert GEM comes as standard with three disks. Two are in the GEM and the third is intended for 'safe' storage for recovery in the event of a disaster. Extra disks can also be purchased. All disks that are not in the GEM should be stored off site or well away from the GEM such that should there be a disastere.g. fire, these disks will survive.
When to swap the disk
The disk should be swapped when there is minimum or no activity on the network. During the disk swap a series of checks have to be performedon the newly inserted disk - this may make the server slow and unresponsive for several minutes in some circumstances.
If the server does not respond 10 minutes after the disk swap, then simply press reset and the system will be back in two minutes. If this happens on a regular basis, contact support to investigate as there may be a configuration or 'usage' issue that prevents the hot-swap from working properly. This is not necessarily an issue with the GEM, it may be related to something on the network.