Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I need online backup?

You already know that your business depends on your computers and your data. Can you imagine if you lost all of your customer billing data, or your financial records, or your sales pipeline? The list of critical data goes on and on—companies today truly live or die with the safety of their data.

To read the top 10 reasons to use online backup, click here.

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I am concerned about security. How do I know my data will be safe?

At every step—from the moment it leaves your server until it’s safely stored in the remote data center—your data is completely secure and carefully protected. We use the same stringent measures, protocols and standards that financial institutions use to protect their data.

BackupGrid encrypts all data at the source with a unique key that only you have using 256-bit AES encryption. For an additional layer of protection, the BackupGrid uses the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to establish a secure, resilient communication tunnel to the off-site data centers.

For more information about the many safeguards built into BackupGrid, please click here.

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I have no IT department. How much technical expertise is required to set up and administer your solution?

Very little. Iron Mountain's technology is designed to be “set-it-and-leave-it” simple, so end-users can spend their time on more productive business activities. Our customer support can assist you through the setup of your trial accounts, as well as with the rollout/implementation across a broader end‐user base. There is no equipment to purchase and only a simple software agent to install. Once installed (which takes minutes), the technology is essentially ‘hands‐free’. With our monitoring service (included in all service plans) you can rely on us to contact you when any action is needed.

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Do you support ‘Bare Metal Restores’?

Our server product can perform full system restores, which is far superior to ‘bare metal’ restores. In the classic sense, ‘bare metal’ means making a sector‐by‐sector image of the disk. The large downside to this approach is that the failed and replacement hardware have to be essentially identical.

One of the benefits of the BackupGrid is that you don’t need the same hardware. We can perform a disaster recovery onto newer or different hardware.

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How do I restore my data?

For both our server and PC solution, all restores are initiated from the secure web management portal. Simply log in with your user name and password, and select which version of the file you wish to restore. The restore is processed instantly, over the Internet, free of charge.

Customers that anticipate the need for immediate restores of very large files may consider adding one or more optional TurboRestore Appliances (TRAs) to their monthly subscriptions.

Of course, Customer Support can assist you when you have restore questions. Our number is 888-374-DATA. Your recoverability of protected data is guaranteed.

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What files should I protect?

For servers we recommend protecting the entire machine—our solution can be configured to protect all the applications, static data, open SQL and MS Exchange databases, the operating system and the system state of the machine. This allows for a full system restore if you have a site disaster—and we can perform this restore onto newer or different hardware which sets our technology apart.

For our PC backup solution, the agents are distributed to your end‐user population pre‐configured to protect the most important data. These configurations can be centrally managed for your end‐users by technicians you designate, or we can manage it for you.

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What happens to the initial backup if I should happen to lose my connection?

Our technology is designed to recover automatically from any type of network failure, even prolonged network outages. Once a connection is re-established, the service continues automatically, and the software detects and transports the changes that have occurred since the last connection and resumes protection.

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When can I stop buying magnetic tape?

You should maintain your current backup practice, and save the backups you already have on tape until your initial backup is complete and you have a few versions of restorable backups at the data center.

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How does BackupGrid interact with Exchange?

With BackupGrid, you have a simple and powerful way to protect every element needed to make an Exchange Server function as it did before a data loss incident. BackupGrid can restore the operating system, Internet Information Server (IIS), Active Directory, storage groups, system state information and all associated data. You can even recover to newer or different hardware if you so choose.

For more information on how BackupGrid interacts with and backs up your Exchange servers, please click here.

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What are the system requirements and supported platforms for the service?

See the table below for the servers supported by BackupGrid.

Each protected server needs an ‘always-on’ connection to the Internet.

For the Connected Backup solution for PC and Mac, the following systems are supported:

• Microsoft Windows Vista
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
• Microsoft Windows XP
• Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
• Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Mac OS X Version 10.4
• Mac OS X Version 10.5

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How much bandwidth does BackupGrid need?

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How long will the first backup take?

It depends on how much data you have to back up and on the speed of your connection. If you use the throttling feature during your initial synchronization, the length of your backup may be extended, but some customers like using this option as it reduces the impact of the initial backup on the rest of their network. The service can also be easily set to restrict the heavy bandwidth usage to weekends or after hours.

The first backup of your PC or Mac will most likely be complete in one night.

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How does Continuous Data Protection work in BackupGrid?

CDP technology tracks all changes to your protected data from the point of the initial backup. “Changes” literally refers to things like adding or deleting a slide in a presentation, or editing a paragraph in a Word document. With updates to files continually captured and protected, you can ‘roll back’ any protected file to a specific version or point-in-time, such as last Tuesday’s version of the PowerPoint presentation, your customer database just before it got infected with that virus last week, or your entire system state after a data catastrophe.

Because the technology is extremely efficient and only transmits the changes to the files after the initial backup has been performed, the normalized bandwidth usage is quite low relative to the total amount of data you have protected.

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What is the TurboRestore Appliance?

Some of our customers elect to add the optional TurboRestore Appliance (TRA) to their BackupGrid subscription. The TRA is a physical device we can provide to you for local installation on your network dedicated to providing a faster local restore capability for all protected server data.

For more information about the TRA, please click here or call 888-374-DATA to speak with a sales representative.

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Is the performance of my network or computer systems going to be affected by the backup service?

The agent file installed on your machines is very small, and after the initial backup most customers do not notice any material change in the performance of their networks or computer systems since the software uses very little system resources.

At any given point in time after the initial backup, the amount of data being actively backed up is very small relative to the total amount of data protected.

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Can I get 24x7 support?

Yes, you can call customer support at Utility Backup Solutions 24 x 7 x 365. The number is 888-374-DATA. Calls are typically handled in the order received, although priority will be given to emergencies. For non-emergencies, please call during west coast business hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm, Monday – Friday.

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What if I have firewalls and other network security elements?

In nearly all cases, the BackupGrid can make the necessary network connections without any modifications to your network security elements. If you are having difficulty with your service for reasons related to security products or practices or any other causes, please call us at 888-374-DATA.

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Where is my data stored?

For high availability, BackupGrid maintains all backup data on two independent vaults maintained by Iron Mountain at separate geographic locations. Backup data that arrives at the primary vault is then sent to the secondary vault where it is revalidated and stored in the same manner as on the primary vault. If there should ever be an unrecoverable error on one of the vaults, the other vault provides continuity of ongoing backups and the ability to restore historical versions. The vaults continuously cross-check with each other to ensure that each has the same set of backup versions, and they crossreplicate between each other as necessary. When a vault comes back online after repair, it automatically acquires data that it is missing from the other vault.

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Can Utility Backup Solutions access my data?

No. Your data is encrypted at the source before being stored remotely in the data center, and only you have the key. Any activities relating to accessing your data or restoring your data require your secure password.

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Can other subscribers to your backup and recovery service see my data?

No. When you access your secure Web Management Portal, it will appear to you that you are the only user of the service—and this is how it appears to all users. Nobody else can access or even see your data.

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Can I delegate the administration to staff members?

Certainly. You can provide a list of administrators for each of your protected servers, and likewise one or more persons can be designated to configure and update your PC backup policies in effect on all user machines from the central management console.

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Is BackupGrid suitable for my industry?

BackupGrid is a true horizontal solution, appropriate for all businesses that rely on their data and require a modern solution for their data backup. Law firms, health clinics, insurance agents, consultants, engineers, technology companies—all companies will find value in BackupGrid.

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Is the same portal used for BackupGrid and Connected Backup?

No, there is a different portal to use for these different technology platforms. See our Support page for the links to the login page for each, and contact us if you are having difficulty accessing your account.

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