After understanding the various kinds of backup in our previous article (Part I),it is important to know the various ways available to you for backing up your data. There are many alternatives to backup your CCTV camera footage, the most popular of which are discussed below.

1. Online Backup.

An online backup is also known as cloud backup. This service allows us to store our data at an offsite location. The data is uploaded using the internet to a remote computer system with a host. Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon Web Services are some of the examples of popular online backup service providers. Usually, you have the option to either automatically sync your content with the remote server in real time, or based on a predefined schedule.

Some of the advantages of online backup include convenience to use and ability to keep data safe from disasters. Further, it is budget friendly since it does not require you to purchase additional machines. Good internet connectivity is all that is required for this kind of backup. Additionally, you can restore data from anywhere in the world which makes for easy data recovery and smooth resuming of operations in case of disasters. However, its main drawback is the heavy dependence of both data backup and recovery on your internet connection and speed.

2. Local Backup

Here, we back up the data on external storage devices like external hard dicks, USB pen drives, DVDs, CDs or blue rays. This is advantageous in its flexibility with portable storage devices that are budget friendly, and since many portable storage devices come with backup software that runs automatically when you plug the drive into a computer, they are very convenient to use. A major drawback of local backup is that it limits you since you can only back up one device at a time.

3. Network Backup

In network backup, you have one computer as a backup destination for all other computers and devices. A network attached storage (NAS) server is ideal for this purpose, which offers all kinds of functions. Network backup, like online backup, depends heavily on internet connectivity and speed of the connection. However, unlike local backup, it can backup multiple devices simultaneously, although it does cost more.