| What are the advantages of Online Backup |
Online Backup with Rhinoback offers several advantages over backing up files to tape, cd,
portable disk, or any other local media. Here are a few:
- No hardware or software costs - There is no need to purchase any hardware such as tape or disk drives.
In addition Rhinoback provides the software free of charge.
- Simple to setup - Online backup systems don't require as much setup and configuration as
other systems that require hardware and backup media.
- Automated execution - Online backup systems run automatically, requiring no user intervention
in most cases.
- Offsite Storage - Online backup systems store your data safely in a remote location. If a disaster
strikes where your computer is located, your data remains safe in a different location.
- Backup Catalog - Online backup systems automatically keep track of which files are backed up,
making them much easier to restore when needed.
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| Is Online Backup Safe and Secure? |
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Yes, in most cases Online Backup is safer than traditional backup. This is particularly
true with Rhinoback secure online data backup. The data is encrypted using advanced encryption and your data cannot
be read by anyone who does not have your decryption key, including Rhinoback personnel. See
This Article for
more information on the subject of safety of online backup systems.
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| What is the difference between Online Backup, Remote Backup, and Internet Backup? |
It is not unusual for people to use the terms synonymously. There is no official definition
of these terms. The definitions below are the most common and generally accepted meanings:
- Online Backup
-
1) A service that provides backup software and storage space specifically for the purpose
of making backup copies of data to a data storage facility via the Internet. 2) A backup
method that allows data to be backed up while the application is currently in use.
- Offsite Backup
-
A general term that refers to backup data being stored in a location that is separated
from the location where the primary data is stored. In order for data to be off-site,
it should be in a different building at a minimum, and ideally should be located in
different facility at least a few miles away from the location where the computer and
primary data are stored. The term offsite backup has been used for decades to describe
the process of moving backup tapes to a secondary location for the purposes of disaster
recovery in the event the primary location is destroyed or becomes inaccessible. With
the advent of the Internet and online backup services, the term offsite backup is often
used with the same meaning as online backup where data is copied off-site over a network.
- Internet Backup
-
A service that provides backup software and storage space specifically for the purpose
of making backup copies of data to a data storage facility via the Internet.
- Online Storage
-
1) Many ISPs allocate some amount of storage space on a server in the ISP's data center
for the use of their subscribers. The space can be used for email, websites, or file storage.
However, online storage that is included with your Internet service does not usually include
any software to copy, schedule, and manage your backup data. 2) The term online-storage is
also used by large data centers to describe storage that is immediately accessible by users,
websites, and programs. For example: disk storage is online storage, and tape storage is
offline storage. You may find that some online backup providers use the term online storage.
- Remote Backup
-
The process of backing up data to a server in a remote location. This term is often used
synonymously with online backup services. Remote backup is often used within a corporation
and is not necessarily a service.
- Network Backup
- The process of backup up data over a network to any media, including tape or disk. This
term is mostly used internally by corporations who backup their own computers over their own
network using various software and media.
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| What computers and operating systems are supported by Rhinoback? |
Rhinoback supports most modern computer systems including:
- Microsoft Windows
- Apple Macintosh
- Common Linux and Unix Variants
See Complete list of systems supported by Rhinoback
| for details.
| Can I use Rhinoback to backup databases? |
Yes, The Rhinoback Business Subscription Plan provides the functionality to
backup the following databases:
- Microsoft SQL Server
- Oracle
- MySQL
- Microsoft Exchange Server
Rhinoback supports both full and incremental (log backups) of Microsoft SQL Server,
Microsoft Exchange Server, Oracle, and Lotus Notes/Domino.
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| How often do my files get backed up? |
| By default, Rhinoback™ will backup your data once a day between 9:00PM and 6:00AM.
However, you can change the schedule to backup more or less frequently and you can also set the
exact times that you want your files to be backed up. |
| Does every file get backed up? |
| No, only the files which have changed since the last backup are sent to the
Rhinoback datacenter. This allows the backups to run much faster. There is no need to transmit
files to the datacenter if an exact copy is already backed up. You also have control over which
folders on your computer are backed up. By default Rhinoback will backup your documents, mail, desktop, and favorites. |
| How much technical know-how does it take to setup Rhinoback? |
| Almost none; you are already computer savy enough to connect to the internet
and browse this site, it doesn't take much more than that to setup Rhinoback. To setup your account,
go to the account page and fill in the form. You will automatically be instructed on how to complete the process. Rhinoback
installs in minutes and automatically configures itself to back up
your documents every night. |
| How much time will I have to spend learning to use Rhinoback? |
| The setup will take about 5 minutes, after that Rhinoback will run automatically.
You are not required to do anything if you don't want to. Your documents and important files will be backed
up everyday without any action on your part. If you want to customize the schedule or options, that
can usually be done in a few minutes. |
| Where will my data be stored? |
| Your data is stored in a world-class datacenter located near Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
See description of the secure Rhinoback datacenter facilities. |
| What happens if the Rhinoback facility is destroyed by a disaster? |
The Rhinoback servers are located in a very secure data center that was
designed to withstand most disasters. The data-center has multiple power sources and its own
power generation facilities to backup the utility power. Advanced alarms, environmental control
and fire containment and suppression are designed into the facility. The Rhinoback data is stored
on redundant disk arrays to protect against common hardware problems.
In addition to all of the protection of primary facility, the Rhinoback system replicates all data
to a mirror site that is located in a second secure data center that is in a different geographic location. The
replication occurs immediately as data arrives at the primary location. The data is replicated on a
block by block basis so that when large files are backed up, the secondary data center is receiving the
file at the same time. If the primary Rhinoback data-center facility suffers a major disaster, the
Rhinoback system will continue to operate from the secondary location.
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| Can anyone else access my data? |
| No, your data is encrypted with a key of your choosing. Your data never leaves your
computer in unencrypted form. Your data cannot be read without the encryption key, which only you will know.
Your encryption key is never transmitted to the datacenter. Even Rhinoback employees, including datacenter
technicians, cannot access your data. |
| Should I stop using my tape backup system? |
| That is completely up to you. You can continue to use your tape backups if you desire, but
your important documents and settings will be securely stored offsite with Rhinoback. |
| I am currently copying my data to CD's for backup, why should I use Rhinoback? |
| Your CD backups are succeptable to loss along with your computer unless you are moving the
backup CDs to another location on regular basis. CD backups also require manual effort everyday to copy the
data and secure the CDs in a safe location. Rhinoback will perform your backups automatically and store your
data offsite without any manual effort on your part. And you will not miss any backups because you forgot
to change the CD! |
| How hard is it to restore my data if it gets lost? |
| Your data can be easily restored using the same Rhinoback software that
is installed on your system to perform the backups. You can also restore your data from
our website without any additional software on your system. |
| How long does a typical hard drive last? |
|
There are several factors that have to be considered to get an idea of how long a
drive should be expected to last. The quality of the drive and the operating conditions have the
biggest influence on the life of the drive. Bottom line is that most drives last between 2 and 5
years, but they can fail at anytime. See
"How Long Should A Hard Drive Last"
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| Can I backup my Outlook personal folders file (.PST) with Rhinoback? |
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Yes, absolutely. Outlook .PST files can grow quite large which makes them difficult to backup to CD's or
other media. In addition, they usually contain valuable documents and information that should be backed up
frequently and retained. Rhinoback's delta file technology
makes backing up Outlook PST files practical. The first time you
you backup a large file, like your PST file, it will take some time. After the initial backup, only the
new data and changed areas of the file will be backed up. If you ever lose your PST file, you can easily
restore the entire file.
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| My hard drive has SMART technology that gives early warning before a disk failure. |
|
SMART technology is very good if your computer has software that monitors it. SMART will report
conditions that may lead to drive failure before the drive fails. However, SMART does not predict
all failures and cannot predict some of the common causes of disk failure, i.e. voltage surges, shock,
mechanical failure... Valuable data should be backed up frequently and stored in a secure location regardless
of the type of disk drive or monitoring technology in use.
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| How long are my files retained on Rhinoback? |
|
Rhinoback retains your files for as long as you keep the account. The current versions of
the files you backup are retained indefinitely. Files that you delete from your computer, or older
versions of files that you have modified are retained according to a retention policy that you set.
By default Rhinoback keeps files that you have deleted for 7 days. If you deleted a file by
mistake then you have 7 days to recover it before Rhinoback will release the space. You can
increase the number of days that deleted and old versions of files will be retained, but it will
increase your space requirements on the Rhinoback storage systems.
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| Rhinoback's price seems low compared to other secure online backup
service providers, what's the catch? |
|
There is no catch. We control our costs so that we can offer you a superior service at a lower cost.
Rhinoback depends on having good referenceable customers to help us spread the word and we spend
little on marketing and advertising. Our servers, storage systems, software, and datacenters are
top quality, offering the best reliability and security possible.
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| What's the deal with the free accounts? How can you afford to give away
free accounts? |
|
The free Rhioback accounts are limited to 500Mb each and they do not expire. We don't expect to make any
money on the free accounts. We are confident that you will like our product and you will want
to use it for all of your valuable files. We think you will be so impressed with the quality of the
system that you will tell your friends and neighbors. That is the only purpose for the free accounts,
no tricks, no spyware, no hidden cost.
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| How do you know that a file didn't lose some bits during transmission? |
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The Rhinoback system uses modern error detection techniques to verify the integrity of each block of
data transmitted. If an error is detected the block is retransmitted.
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| What if a hard disk fails on the Rhinoback servers? |
|
Rhinoback uses fault tolerant disk arrays for storing customer data. The failure of a
single disk will not result in loss of customer data. In addition the entire storage array
is replicated to an additonal storage facility in a secondary datacenter to ensure that your data
will not be lost if a catastrophic event occurs at the primary data center.
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| Does Rhinoback require a contract? |
|
Rhinoback does not require a contract. You can cancel your account at anytime on our
website in the account section. When your account is cancelled, the billing will stop
immediately.
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| If I cancel my Rhinoback account, what happens to my data? |
|
When you cancel your Rhinoback account an email will be sent to the registered email
address giving you notice that your account will be terminated in 5 business days.
The email and grace period are for your protection in case of a mistake or
unauthorized cancellation request. During this period of time, you may restore any
files that you want to retain. After the 5 day grace period, your data that resides
on the Rhinoback storage system will be permanently destroyed.
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| My auditors require that I keep 5 years of backup data, do I need to set
the retention policy to 1825 days? |
|
Not necessarily, it depends on your backup requirements. If you need to be able to
restore any of the snapshots for those 1825 days, then yes, you need to set a simple
1825-day retention policy.
On the other hand, if say for each of the 5 years, your auditor only needs the
snapshots on December 31 of each year, then you can make use of the "Advanced Retention
Policy" feature, where you have options to keep yearly, quarterly, monthly, or daily snapshots.
With this flexibility, you will be able to configure your required backup policy.
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| What is incremental backup and how does In-File Delta work? |
In an incremental backup, only modified files will be uploaded to the Backup Server.
On the other hand, In-File Delta is applicable to the physical files to be uploaded to
the Backup Server, does not matter whether it is a MS SQL database file, MS
Exchange transaction log file or any normal file in a FileBackupSet. Specifically, only
the changed blocks in comparison the original file on the Backup Server (delta file)
will be uploaded.
For each modified file, Rhinoback Manager would determine whether the entire file or only
a delta file should be uploaded. If the entire file is to be uploaded, the old version of
the file will be moved to the Retention area. Else if only the delta file is to be
uploaded, the previous delta files will be moved to the Retention area and the Data
area should contain the original full backup file, checksum file and the latest delta
file of this file. See documentation on Rhinoback's
In-file delta technology for more details on how file delta technology works.
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| What are Off-line backup, Logout backup reminder and Local backup
features? |
Off-line backup is basically designed for notebook users who are off-line most of the
time and cannot rely on backup schedule to backup regularly. The backup interval
allows notebook users to specify the interval that they would like their data to
backup. If this interval has elapsed, backup will run automatically once this machine
is online.
Logout backup reminder asks user if they would like to backup if they logout of the
computer or shutdown their computer.
Local backup allows an extra copy of backup file to be kept on local hard disk when
running backup.
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| I keep getting a prompt reminding me to do backup when I logout Windows,
can I disable that? |
That is the “System Logout Backup Reminder”. Please do the following to disable
that:
- Logon to the Rhinoback Manager
- Select the backup set that you want to disable the logout reminder from the left
panel
- Select the [Extra Backup] node under the backup set node on the left panel
- Uncheck the [Enable System Logout Backup Reminder] checkbox under the
“System Logout Backup Reminder (Windows)” section
- If you want to do this to all backup sets, please repeat the previous step for each
backup set
- Press the [Save Setting] button from the toolbar
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