Backup Teamwork to Tape-drive

[Johan Stinckens]

I am currently evaluating how we would best backup our Teamwork data once the BIM-server is installed and up and running.

Currently we use a Dell Powervault Tape Drive to backup our data and solo projects (PLN-files).
I am an advocate for Tape backup as this is not only a reliable and cost-effective way to backup, but also a flexible one.
We have a routine of incremental, differential and full backups (daily, weekly, monthly) from which we store the weekly and monthly backups off-site.

I would like the BIM project data to be backed-up daily and stored off-site (not in the cloud).

Having just read the ArchiCAD 20 Backup Guide I worked out the following backup-procedure:

BIM Server backup levels -> backup data on the BIM server
- 1st level - Project and Library backups -> will be implemented
- 2nd level - Full BIM Server Data Backup -> will be implemented
- 3rd level - Operating System snapshot -> will not be implemented

Tape backup -> nightly backup of Project data to be stored off-site

Questions:

1) Which files should I backup so that I have the latest files? Backup the folder in which the BIM-server does the 1st level backups? Will I have the most recent PLN-file for each project and all user's Local Cache (PLA)?!

2) Considering that the current backup-procedure which copies the main data-folder of our network to tape will be running each night.
Daily backups take less than an hour, weekly/monthly backups on Thursdays can take up to 4 hours.
So we probably won't be able to backup the BIM server data on these days. We could run the BIM-data to tape backup in the morning, taking the first BIM backup copy from the BIM-server as a milestone. Is this workable?!

Any ideas on backup BIM server to tape are welcome. I might post some more questions about this in following days.

greets...

Johan