5.1 Backup of information on a web site.
- As is the case with any computer system that exists a backup of the information that exists on the system is important. A web site does have some special considerations due to the fact that the information that resides on the web site is very dynamic. Several options exist for the backup of data. A tape backup of the data is one method of backing up the information and in addition to tape backup a mirror of the information on the hard drive can be made. The information can be mirrored on the same machine or a remote machine can be used to store the information. Another option to help prevent data loss is to use what is called a raids array. A raids array spreads the information over several hard drives and all of the data is still intact even if one of the drives fails. The array can be setup with an extra drive so that the bad drive is automatically taken off line and the spare drive written to till it is in synch with the rest of the drives.
- No matter what method is used to provide backup of the web site, the method must be well defined and followed so that data is not lost. Loss of data could be very devastating to a large web site that is providing commercial services to a broad range of customers. Order information, money transaction information, any type of information that is lost would cost the customer and ultimately the web site provider lost revenues
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5.2 Catastrophe plan of a site. - Backup of data on the web site is important, but in addition to data backup a plan must be made to quickly recover from catastrophic failure of a site due to all types of events such as fire, flood, tornado, hurricane. The plan should include actions to be taken to recover at the existing site and also remote locations if site is totally destroyed.
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5.3 Maintenance of the documents on a web server. - A large web site could become very difficult to manage due to the numerous domains that could exist in addition to the quantity of pages. In order for hyper-text to function all of the links must be maintained and corrected when pages change or get old and are removed. Broken links lead the user to a dead end. One way to handle a bad link is to return a page that tells the user the link is broken and pointing to a nonexistant page. The page also requests the user to email the "web master" about the broken link to the web page.
- There are several software tools that can be used to maintain the pages of a web site and also maintain good links. Programs such as FrontPage60 make it easier for the user to keep track of the pages, links, cgi, java, and functionality of the website.
