Wait! Don't Rush Your Raid Server To Data Recovery Just Yet!

If you are the administrator or user of a RAID or Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks system, data recovery is a big concern. Are you the kind of person who is always worried about unforeseen data loss situations, and send your server off to data recovery every time there's a problem? Well, don't be. Read on to find out about how some minor tips can go a long way in keeping your server and your data in healthy condition if ever your hard drive crashes.

1. It pays to have redundancy

As an administrator or even a user, make sure that you always keep a backed up mirror image of any striped RAID that you use. Keeping a mirrored image will ensure that you have a fall-back in case of data damage or hard disk failure. If you use RAID Level 0, you can do striping which puts smaller fragments of data into different available hard disks and allows you to put them together later. If you have RAID Level 1, you can do striping which backs up your intire system into one or more hard disk drives. Try to backup as regularly as possible - daily would be an ideal situation. That way you will have a ready copy of your data to fall back on.

2. Don't always listen to the system

If the system finds that there is a damaged or faulty hard drive, DO NOT ATTEMPT to reconfigure the RAID even if the system prompts you to do so at any time. Use your own judgement when it comes to handling the system. Once platters are damaged, striping overwritten or changed completely, the chances of getting your data back are slim. Keeping that in mind, try not to reconfigure the system at all. Leave it as it is, and try to sort out the problem through a different route.

3. Never format any HDD Permanent data loss generally takes place when hard disks have been swapped, switched from one place to another or installed into other computers in a bid to rebuild or repair the array. Formatting a boot drive or partition can also damage or remove striping, which reduces the recoverability of data and causes permanent loss. So, don't try to format the HDD as you may inadvertently manage to erase all chances of recovering you data.

4. Defragment your hard disk drive regularly

It pays to do regular maintenance on your disk drives. This keeps the data stacks in healthy shape, and helps keep the general data distribution in healthy condition.

5. Backup Important data Separately

Make sure you save copies of files regularly used, by creating a "save as" copy of the file on monthly basis. You can then rename this file and save it to a fresh location, and continue to work on the fresh copy to provide maximum protection to your data.

6. Partition Magic Make sure you create different partitions apart from the one housing the operating system, and try to use the second partition as far as possible. You can do this through your operating systems management console.

7. Always use anti-virus and a firewall

One cannot stress this enough! Get them both installed and leave them there. Update them both regularly to ensure that you do not have any external attacks on your system! This is a must!

8. Backup using good software This is a very basic step, and should be done as soon as you get a chance to do so. You should always back up your data, and there is plenty of backup software available that helps create an image of the drive, which can be used in case of any damage.