Nope. Just pop.
Erm...I was talking explicitly about a network with servers. I also have the benefit of a secure area in another building, still connected to the LAN. I appreciate you may want to think differently in a non-LAN environment.
Hard drives, cheap or otherwise, seem to be failing more often these days IMHO. That's why I use the internal hardware RAID - and I can afford to because they're cheap and performance isn't an issue. You could use the software RAID in Windows I suppose. Again, performance isn't an issue here.
I have two production servers which swap data onto RAID arrays. In other words, I can restore from one to the other, from my laptop. To give "offsite" protection, the backup server accepts backup files from the production servers and ironically, I use the parent/child/grandchild form of backups we used to use with tapes. So I also get a history.
All servers are locked away. The backup server is locked in a separate building! So no "precious data" leaves site on tape in the pocket of an employee, presumably a human being, and with all the fallability that that entails.
The benefits:
Instant access to backed up files, from any authorised PC in the building - or outside for that matter
Faster backup/restore times
Data stored on a more secure media
No ongoing staff costs
Disaster Recovery/Offsite backup box ticked, and no data leaves the premises
Risks:
Viral attack internally - mitigatable
Low yield nuclear warhead destroying site - not a lot I can do about that
All the best,
John
