What is remote backup?
Remote backup, also known as online backup, is the process of storing data in an alternative location. The data is stored in an online mode, such that data access is constantly available.

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What is offsite backup?
Offsite backup, also known as offline backup, is the process of physically storing data in an alternative location. The data is stored on an offline medium such as a Hard disk, CD/DVD, Tape, etc...

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What is the difference between remote and offsite backup?

• Remote backup:
• Data is sent (in encrypted form) to the remote site via the internet.
• Internet connection is required.
• Data is always available online.
• Offsite backup:
• Data has to be backed up to backup medium (tape, disk, cd/dvd, etc...).
• Backup requires a software and hardware solution (backup software, tape device and tape medium for example)
• The backup medium has to be transported to the offsite location.
• Data is available once tape is loaded and relevant file(s) are located.

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What are the pros and cons of remote and offsite backup?

• Remote backup:
• Pros:
• Data is always available online.
• No dependence on hardware and software solution to restore data.
• Cons:
• Speed of backup and restore is dependent on network connection speed, however, speed of backup and restore is only dependent on the network connection speed!
• Offsite backup:
• Pros:
• No requirement on internet connection.
• Backup time limited to speed of medium and not network connection speed.
• Cons:
• Time to create the data and store it to tape.
• Typically expensive hardware and software is required.
• In the event of a disaster the physical medium has to be transported from the offsite store before restoration can begin.

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What does it do?
Vital Data Storage Service enables secure remote backups of your data. Data is transmitted in an encrypted form over the internet, and stored in an encrypted form on our servers. In the event of a disaster your data can be restored with minimal business impact.

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How does it work?
Vital Data Storage Service consists of a software agent that transmits compressed encrypted data to servers located in our secure data centre. The data is encrypted and compressed using a 128 bit algorithm before being transmitted to our servers. You define the algorithm, you define the encrypting key. This data is then transmitted between agent and server using a 128 bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) session. Your data remains on our servers in this encrypted form and can only be decrypted by someone who knows the key. Vital Data Storage Service therefore offers multiple levels of security to protect your data.

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What are the benefits of remote backup?

• Vital Data Storage Service minimises the risk of data loss and subsequently revenue loss in the event of a disaster.
• Your data is stored in a remote, secure data centre, in an encrypted form.
• Your data is always available.
• There is no need to purchase expensive hardware and software.
• There is no need to worry about additional hardware failures.
• There is no need to worry about patching complex software.
• There is no need to store bulky tapes and hard drives locally and remotely.
• There is no need to swap out storage media to achieve your backup requirements.

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What network connection, if any, is required?
Vital Data Storage Service requires an internet connection. For best results Vital Data Storage recommends a minimum upload speed of 256 kbps.

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How easy is it to live with?
Once you've downloaded and installed the software on your computer, you define what you want to backup, how often you want it backed up, what your data retention period is and what your security settings will be. From that point on the software will automatically backup your data for you.

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How much does it cost?
Price depends on how much data you commit to backing up. The more you backup the lower the cost is per GB. You can go as low as £1.20 per GB. Please see our pricing structure for more details.

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