Online Data Backup

Our online backup solutions

Packages are available to backup desktops, laptops and servers. Each package provides a fully automated and secure, off-site data backup and recovery solution which offer ‘set and forget data backup’ and rapid restore capability.

Benefits of our online backup service

• Quick and easy setup - your first data backup could be underway within 15 minutes of signing up
• Automatic, scheduled, online backup service - you don't need to worry about ongoing data backup, leaving you to concentrate on your business
• Backup open files - in Windows environments our online data backup service is able to backup files that are in use, meaning that data backups can take place during working hours
• Incremental backup - only changed files are backed up, meaning backups are smaller, quicker and will consume less bandwidth.
• Data compression - before sending a backup to the online storage server your data is compressed to increase the speed of the data backup process
• Single file restore - with just a few mouse clicks, specific lost files can be restored allowing you to get back to business quickly and easily. Data recovery has never been so simple!
• 30 day changed data retention - previous data backups are retained for 30 days meaning you are able to restore either your most recent data backup or previous data backups of older versions.
• Data security - data is encrypted using 256-bit AES Encryption and stored within multiple, geographically diverse, high security data centres ensuring that should the worst happen, we will have a copy of your most recent data backup.
• Multiple OS support - Vault Express is compatible with Windows XP, Vista 7 and MAC OSX. Zen Vault Professional is compatible with Windows Server 2000/2003/2008, MAC OSX and Linux†.
• Flexibility - change data backup storage plans as your data backup requirements grow, without any additional capital expenditure. With multiple terabytes of storage available our Online Data Backup service can cater for your businesses' growing online data storage requirements.
• No capital expenditure and reduced total cost of ownership - no costly hardware installations are required to perform an online data backup. The automated process removes the requirement for human involvement in backup and restore procedures.
• Additional benefits for Zen Broadband customers - all our Broadband services provide unrestricted uploads meaning your data backups will not be counted against any usage restriction.

† Limited technical support available on Linux operating systems.

We use Attix5 Backup Professional backup software

Attix5 Backup Professional software provides an effective and efficient platform for automated and secure backup and recovery of critical information stored on servers, databases and desktop or laptop devices. It eliminates the risk of human error in the backup process, a factor which is generally underestimated, but which is responsible for the majority of data loss. The automation of the traditionally manual data backup tasks reduces cost, increases effectiveness and minimises risk.

Customers' data security and privacy are also paramount in the construction of the software feature set. Backup Professional makes use of the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol standard for secure communication between the Backup Clients and the Storage Platform, including data transmission (1024 bit RSA key exchange, 128 bit RC4 stream cipher and SHA-1 integrity checking).

Data is stored using 256-bit AES Encryption on the Storage platform on the Storage Platform. Backup account encryption keys are not stored with the data and globally recognised techniques are applied to ensure the integrity and security of all data protected with Backup Professional.

Storage Network

Our data centres are highly secure facilities located in Manchester and Rochdale. Both benefit from extensive CCTV, alarm systems, 24/7 manned security and stringent access controls. They also boast disaster management features such as on-site generators, uninterruptible power supplies, emergency lighting and air conditioning and fire detection/suppression systems.

Multiple high bandwidth links are utilised to ensure the required capacity and fault tolerance. All online data backup customers benefit from our resilient network and the replication of data across two geographically diverse locations.

Data Transfer Times

The amount of time a data backup takes is dependent on multiple factors, the two most influential factors are the amount of data you are protecting and the speed of your Internet connection.

Your first online data backup takes the longest as you will be transferring the first copy of your data therefore it is important to plan how long this will take using your existing internet connection. 

Use the table below to determine your online data backup transfer time.

Subsequent data backups take significantly less time as, thanks to incremental technology, you will only be sending changed data to Zen, which is typically only around 10% of the size of all of the data you are protecting. For example if you choose to protect 5GB of data, subsequent backups are likely to be around 500MB in size and take less than one hour to complete on a typical Broadband line.

If you have large amounts of data to transfer on your first backup we can provide an Offline Backup Service. This service transfers your backup files to an external, portable USB 2.0 hard disk drive, which is temporarily connected to your Local Area Network (LAN). This avoids sending the first data backup over the Internet to the remote Storage Platform. The Snapshot disk is then physically taken to the data centre, where the data is transferred onto the storage platform. As the software encrypts your data prior to it leaving your server it ensures that your data is kept secure during transit.