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Book ReviewsThe Backup Book: Disaster Recovery from Desktop to Data Center |
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Book: The Backup Book: Disaster Recovery from Desktop to Data Center
Written by: Dorian Cougias E. L. Heiberger Karsten Koop |
Publisher: Schaser-Vartan Books
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5
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Great all-around book
Rating:
5 / 5
This is one of the few backup books that isn't slanted toward a single product (such as a VERITAS book, or an EMC book). Covering what the authors found to be "the most prominent problems in the network today," this book focuses on basic solutions for the problems that we all face in the real world.
And it is written in a style that is part straight to the point and part humorous. The only thing that I would suggest adding is a set of powerpoint slides for training (maybe next time guys?).
Is this book an in-depth book on every subject? No. This is not the be-all-to-end-all SAN backup book. Or RAID book. Or the "best of breed" for anything that it covers. But I don't think that the authors meant it to be a drill-down-to-the-bottom type of book. It covers what it needs to cover to suggest the right solution. And for most of us, that's just fine.
But if I had to grab one book when I head out to think through backup problems, this is the book to grab.
Good points but pretty weak overall
Rating:
2 / 5
Let me start by saying that there are not many books on the subject of backup and recovery, so I'm always glad to see when a new one comes out. However, after reading this one, I found myself very disappointed. While the authors cover a number of important subjects, their eyes were bigger than their stomachs and they covered more material than they should have. Is this a book about backups? disaster recovery? data center planning? network design? Sadly, the authors seem to think all of the above, and have dedicated 729 pages worth of thoughts to it.
While the information in the book is relevant, the topics are too many and the amount of material per-topic is too little. The authors would have been better off focusing on JUST backup & recovery, and diving deeper into that subject. Disaster Recovery, SAN design, network design, and data center design are topics important enough for their own books, and there are better books out there. After paying for this hefty and expensive book, I was very disappointed with my purchase.
While it doesn't have the same breadth of subjects (thankfully), I would strongly recommend, "Implementing Backup and Recovery" by David B. Little and David A. Chapa. While their book is biased towards Veritas NetBackup, its general discussion about the backup process, and factors that influence it, is excellent. The discussion regarding capacity planning is the best I've ever read. The calculations for full, differential, and cumulative backups are incredibly useful and are applicable to all backup administrators, regardless of what software they're using.
A recommended read for all technologists.
Rating:
5 / 5
I really enjoyed this book. The information is accurate, up-to-date, and very helpful to anyone wanting to run a trouble-free technology department. Disaster recovery and data security are hot topics. The book explains concepts that most any IT professional can grasp, as well as enough detail to implement it as part of a corporate technology plan.Not only is the information good, the writing style and illustrations hold your interest. This is not the same old drab technical writing. It is acually fun to read!
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