You never know when disaster will strike and you will experience an issue with your vibration database file(s). Many things can go wrong with a database that may prevent it from being used in the future. Someone could accidently delete equipment setups, routes or even large amounts of historical data. The hard drive could malfunction and the database suddenly be lost. A database file can become corrupt and access is no longer possible. Do you have a plan to deal with these types of issues and quickly recover? It is critical to make sure that your vibration database(s) are routinely backed up and that it is easy for you to retrieve those backups quickly when needed.

 

Is/are your database file(s) stored locally on your computer’s hard drive? If so, then you should periodically store a copy of your database(s) to a back up drive or network drive on a server.  It is critical that you store multiple copies. You may need to make a monthly folder on the backup drive and store a monthly backup. This way you have the ability to restore a version of the database file back to a time before the problem developed.

 

Is your database file stored on your company server? IT departments usually make daily backups of these files. These backup files may be stored for several weeks or months. Some IT departments charge your department a fee for this effort and charge a fee to restore a backup copy upon your request. It is critical that you verify with your IT department that your database file(s) are being routinely archived, and for how long. It is critical that you understand what process and cost you may experience should restoration of a database be required.

 

Asking your IT department a few questions or a little routine effort on your part may prevent a lot of headache later. It is better to be safe than sorry!