In a recent article, MNP’s Kerry Mann, National Leader – Enterprise Resource Planning, discussed the costs, risks and challenges of...
Have Zombies Eaten My Data? Profile and Data Corruption.
Have you ever opened a program and where you once saw data entries, you now see nothing? Let me tell you about factors that contribute to profile and data corruption.
More and more these days, people are sharing computer access and the operating systems are making this easier to do. The following will outline cause and effect when it comes to computer sharing and data on the network.
Folder Redirection
Folder redirection is when a user’s local data is synchronized with a server location in order to be able to get it backed up daily with your data backup solution. One of the problems with this setup is with a network that is not stable, or does not have the appropriate equipment in place to handle the data traffic.
Folder redirection is good in that if the connection to the server is broken, it simply reverts to the local copy until the connection to the server is restored. However, if the connection keeps dropping daily, this will help lead to data corruption and when this happens, it affects both copies of your data. Advice to the wise; avoid jumping to cheaper/ less reliable solutions when putting your hardware in place that will be the backbone of your internal network.
People will often want to be able to access their POP email from multiple locations, with complete access to their email data, and this is done by placing their email file, called a pst, in a folder on the server. The email program is then set up, and pointed to the pst file for each instance.
The down side to this arrangement is that if your environment is prone to power disruptions, this will lead to corruption of your email file and increases the risk of losing emails permanently. The other issue I have seen is when multiple people use the same computer, they tend not to log off, leaving their programs and email open in the background. If there is a power outage and Outlook remains open, connecting to an email file on the server, Outlook loses it connection with that pst file and creates a new one locally. This wouldn’t be such a bad thing but that local pst file contains no POP settings necessary to connect you to your email, and will open to an empty inbox, making the user believe they have lost all their email.
Outsmarting the Zombies
There are a few ways to ensure that your data stays safe from zombies: close programs when you are finished using them and ensure you close your email program and log off when you are done for the day.
Please feel free to call us at Mantralogix if you need someone to do a network assessment and check your hardware to make sure you are keeping the data zombies at bay. We’d be happy to help!
