Bulletin ID
DLB - 98 - 17
| PublicationDate: 5/1/98 BulletinID: DLB - 98 - 17 May 1998 Subject: Tips for Database Backup Procedures and Scheduling Dear Colleague: I would like to remind you of the importance of backing up your Direct Loan database. Each week several of our schools lose their databases without having regularly backed up their data. Please don't let this happen to you. When a school loses its EDExpress or other Direct Loan database, the Loan Origination Center (LOC) sends the school a paper data dump consisting of all loan data the LOC has for that school. Once this is received, the school then must reenter all data exactly as it appears in the data dump, a tedious and time consuming undertaking. To protect yourself in case of data loss due to a system failure or other disaster, all schools should establish procedures and a schedule for backing up data. When developing the procedures and schedule, consider the following tips: 1. Work volume. Some very large institutions back up their data twice daily because they are unwilling to lose more than a half day's work to a system failure. Smaller institutions may consider a daily or weekly backup to be sufficient. 2. Consecutive backups. In general, it is good to maintain at least two to three consecutive backups and rotate your backup diskettes or tapes. This means that you do not back up to the same diskette or tape each time. For example, some businesses back up their data on a nightly basis and have diskettes or tapes specifically designated by weekday (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.). It may take some time to realize that the database has been corrupted and you may need to use a previous backup to restore your database. 3. Backup method. Several methods are available to back up your data. The simplest involves using the DOS backup utility to save the data to diskettes. Tape drive systems are more efficient and relatively inexpensive. 4. Backup type (full or a combination of full and incremental). For example, a school may choose to make a full backup of all data on Fridays and make incremental backups on the other days of the week. With an incremental backup, only the data that has changed since the last backup is included. 5. Off site storage. For maximum protection, keep at least one full backup copy off site in case of fire or natural disaster. 6. Back up before upgrading. Back up your system before you install an upgraded version of the software. If a failure occurs during the installation that corrupts your data, you can easily restore the data created before the failed installation. Schools should determine the backup procedures and schedule that best meet their needs. Whether your school uses EDExpress or some other software, remember: back up, back up, back up! Our intent is to help you avoid potential disaster and unnecessary work. We hope you find these suggestions helpful, and we thank you for your continued support. Sincerely, Joe L. McCormick Chair Direct Loan Task Force |