With the amount of information that is available on the internet today, it can easily feel a little overwhelming. In order to help as much as we can, we have created a comprehensive section dedicated to answering the most frequently asked questions that our customers ask us.
Here you will find valuable information to help you make the best use of Vital's services and technologies.
What is a virus?
A computer virus is a program (a block of executable code) which attaches itself to, overwrites or otherwise replaces another program in order to reproduce itself without the knowledge of the PC user.
How does my computer get infected by a virus?
Different viruses have different ways of infecting a computer or floppy disk. Infection can occur if you start your computer from an already infected disk, use an infected file or application on your computer, or use your disk in an infected computer that then spreads the infection to your disk. Other ways a virus can be spread is through external mail systems.
What are the most common types of viruses?
The most common types of virus currently are the macro virus and the boot sector infector. Other common viruses that infect applications are called file infectors.
How can I avoid getting a virus on my system?
First, and most important, install and use an anti-virus software package. Most anti-virus packages provide two kinds of protection: a watchdog program which observes the files that you open and alerts you when a suspicious file is accessed, and a stand-alone program for scanning media. Keep the software up-to-date by downloading updates as soon as they are available. Secondly, scan every diskette that you place in your drive and every file that you download. Finally, never open email attachments that do not have a recognised source.
What is a firewall?
Traditionally, a firewall has been a dedicated piece of hardware which allows two networks to communicate in a controlled manner. A typical set-up is to allow users behind the firewall to access web pages and email without allowing external users to access the internal network. In recent years, software firewalls have been commonly deployed, providing a cost-effective solution, particularly for home-users or small office broadband networks.
What is a proxy?
A proxy is an application level gateway, typically placed between two networks. Proxies have various uses, including use in a firewall to further isolate two networks.
What is Network Address Translation (NAT)?
Quite simply, network address translation is a way to rewrite the addresses of packets as they travel through a system. Typical uses include allowing several computers to share a single internet connection. NAT can also re-enforce the security provided by a firewall, and in some cases provide equivalent levels of security. Typical devices that perform NAT functions for the average computer user may be routers, cable/DSL modems or hardware firewalls that allow multiple computers to connect to it, or computers dedicated to the task of "masquerading" or "internet connection sharing" (ICS).
Why do I need to back up my data?
Your business operations are dependent on your data availability. With our backup services, if you lose data due to an unanticipated system interruption, your data can be retrieved, allowing you to continue with normal business operations with minimal information and revenue loss.
What data is being backed up?
You, the customer, specify what data you would like to be backed up. Vital can back up your entire server, specific file systems and/or directories.
How is my data backed up?
Vital manages each customer's backup with the Veritas NetBackup software, the industry's leading backup and recovery software solution.
How much data can be backed up?
There is no limit to the amount of data that can be backed up, however, all data backup requirements will need a custom configuration and quote.
How long do backups take?
The actual time that it takes to complete a backup will vary, depending on how much data is being backed up.
How would I initiate data restoration?
You would need to contact the Vital Helpdesk to initiate restoration processes.
Is the same tape used for incremental as for full backup?
Yes, if backup size permits. Otherwise, we will use as many tapes as it takes.
What platforms are supported?
The backup system can support the following platforms:
- Windows NT
- Windows 2000
- Linux RedHat-6.0 or above
- SQL
- Oracle
How much space does the client software take on my server?
The Veritas NetBackup Client software needs 20MB of disk space.
How will I know if my data has been backed up successfully?
The client software interface installed on your server will allow you check that information daily.
What happens if I add more disk space or a new server?
Please forward your request through to your Vital Account Manager who can deal with your individual request.
What type of tape format is my data stored on?
Vital has standardised on DLT technology, but we continually review this, dependent on technological advances.
Can I purchase my backup tapes from Vital?
Yes, all tape purchases are done on a custom quote basis depending on the specific requests. However, for security reasons, once those tapes have been removed from Vital's control, they cannot be imported back into the tape library for use.
What is a SAN (Storage Area Network)?
A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed, special-purpose network that interconnects different kinds of data storage devices. Typically a solution for worldwide organisations with large associated data servers and/or a large network of users. A storage area network can form part of the overall network of computing resources for an enterprise or data centre. A storage area network is usually clustered in close proximity to servers but may also extend to remote locations for backup and archival storage, using wide area network carrier technologies such as asynchronous transfer mode or Metro Ethernet Networks.
Do we provide SAN solutions?
Vital has a scalable SAN solution in place, through joint ventures with data centres in Canada, the US and Singapore. Hence, we are more than happy to discuss bespoke requirements with you.
What firewall security can you offer?
Vital has a complete range of security products such as Cisco PIX firewalls, available to companies who are concerned about the threats that the internet can pose.
What is a LUN?
Short for 'Logical Unit Number, used to identify SCSI devices so the host can address and access the data on each disk drive in an array.
What is Mirroring?
One disk acts as the primary storage disk, while the other provides a mirror image of the primary disk, providing redundancy in the event of a disk failure.
What is Zoning?
The process of dividing a storage area network into zones.
What is NDMP?
This is short for 'Network Data Management Protocol' which provides network-based backup of NAS devices.
Can I access my files over the Internet?
Yes, records can be accessed via the web interface.
Can I add any document to the archive?
Yes, you can add document of any type or format to the archive. It's like copying the files to your hard drive, you can store files of any type. The software includes viewers for a number of document types: TIFF, JPEG, and text.
What is Document Management?
Document Management is the process of managing documents through their lifecycle. From inception through creation, review, storage and dissemination all the way to their destruction.
What is Imaging?
Imaging is a method for converting paper documentation into an electronic format, using scanners and associated techniques such as Optical Character Recognition, etc.
Isn't Document Management the same as Imaging?
No. Although clearly related, Imaging is only one of the techniques used to introduce document into a Document Management environment. Today, most documents start life in electronic format and, wherever possible, you should try to use the original source of the document rather then a scanned image.