Ad Hoc Network Backup
“Cost Effective Backup Software for Private Networks”
Presented by the
Blue Team
Feasibility Presentation
1 March 2012
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Outline
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About the Team
Problem Definition
Customer Base
Solution
Risks
Pricing
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Team Organization
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Data Maintenance
• Data loss has catastrophic consequences and a backup
solution that takes advantage of network resources is needed.
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Causes of Data Loss
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From Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs3
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Impact of Data Recovery
• If no backups were used and the hard drive is intact, data can
sometimes be recovered
• The cost of data recovery can vary widely and depends on
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Severity of damage
Urgency
Parts required
Size and type of storage media
• Recovery following a data loss episode is expensive
• If the data cannot be recovered, it is permanently lost and the costs
can be significantly higher
From Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding the Causes and Costs3
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Frequency of Data Loss
• 70% of small firms that experience major data loss go out of
business within a year.2
• A 2009 survey by Kroll Ontrack polled IT managers from 945
companies.1
– 49% of all IT managers reported a data loss situation in the two years
prior.
– 36% felt that data loss could have a significant impact on their
business.
– “An alarming 49 per cent of small companies stated that they fail to
back up their data on a daily basis.”
• So why are current solutions not being utilized?
From Tech Managers Often Underestimate Impact of Data Loss1
Impact on U.S. Small Business of Natural & Man-Made Disasters2
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Current Solutions
• Dedicated hardware
– Expensive
• Additional local storage
– Optical media
• Fragile
• High maintenance
– External disks
• Expensive
– Flash storage
• Expensive
• Easy to misplace
• Cloud backups
– Monthly fee and bandwidth usage
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Consumers
• Small Businesses
– Possibly no dedicated IT staff
– Enough computers to require a focused backup
solution
• Consumer Home Networks
– PC enthusiasts
– Home offices
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The Need for Ad Hoc Backups
• Even small businesses can lose thousands of
dollars due to data loss
• Non tech-savvy users and small businesses
with no dedicated IT staff need a simple to use
solution
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Small Businesses
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Typically one to two dozen computers7
Lack dedicated IT support7
Much smaller budgets than Enterprise
Need for security and encryption
Over 50% wary of online solutions8
From Designing and Building the Best Small Office Network From the Ground Up 7
The Universe of Corporate PC Backup Options8
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Consumer Home Networks
• 94% of computer users risk losing their data5
• Users have priceless files (pictures, video)
• Not always technically savvy
From 4th Annual Backblaze Data Backup Study Finds 94% of People Risk Data Loss 5
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Computers Per Home Network
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From The Complex & Surprising Anatomy of a Home Network6
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Problem Detection
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Solution Objective
Ad Hoc Network Backups aims to provide
inexpensive, secure and reliable backups to
home, small and medium-sized LANs
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Solution Characteristics
To meet this objective, our solution must
• Be inexpensive
• Use only existing hardware
• Be easy for untrained staff to use
• Give peace-of-mind to owners, operators, and users
• Not be susceptible to a single point of failure
• Optionally make use of centralized management
• Not need WAN access
• Have no recurring fees
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How it Works
• Periodic backups from one PC are made
on other PCs. Backups are not always
stored on the same nodes.
• In the event of data loss on a PC,
data can be recovered from other
PCs to the affected PC.
• If a PC is completely unusable, data can still be restored
to local storage on any other node, even nodes without
the particular data needed.
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Benefits & Caveats to the Consumer
• Benefits
– Easy to learn interface
– Low cost
– No need for additional hardware
• Caveats
– May be easy, but yet another interface to learn
– Installation management may be cumbersome for
larger networks
– Highly dynamic nodes (laptops, etc) may pose
problems
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Problem Solved with Ad Hoc
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Major Functional Component Diagram
• This is an entirely software solution, so the MFCD only includes
major components of the software.
• Each of the 11 lowest blocks is an independent module.
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Risk Matrix
C1 – Software Price
C2 – Customer Knowledge
C3 – User Preferences
T1 – Data Security
T2 – Software Compatibility
T3 – Data Corruption
T4 – Network Failure
F1 – Development Costs
F2 – Customer Support
S1 – Production Schedule
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Technical Risks
P1, I5
• T1- Data must be secure from intruders / prying eyes
 Mitigation- Use current, standards-compliant, symmetric-key
encryption
P2, I4
• T2- Software incompatibility with customer systems

P1, I5
Mitigation- Ensure product meets platform and architecture
standards
• T3- Data corruption during or after the backup process
 Mitigation- Use reliable transmission strategies, enforce automated
and manual backup validations
P3, I3
• T4- Customer network failure
 Mitigation- This is primarily out of our hands. We could potentially
offer online backups as an additional feature
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Customer Risks
P1, I4
• C1- Customers might not be able to afford our product
 Mitigation- Part of our selling point is that we are cheaper than our
competition
P2, I3
• C2- Customers might not be knowledgeable enough to fully
utilize our product
 Mitigation- Offer support, training, and documentation on the use
of our product
P3, I3
• C3- Even if managers purchase our software, their
employees might refuse to use it
 Mitigation- Advertise the advantages of our product, make it easy
to use
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Financial and Scheduling Risks
P4, I1
• F1- Development costs might go over-budget
 Mitigation- Plan for this to happen
P1, I3
• F2- We might have to pay for customer support
 Mitigation- It does not have to be 24/7 support, use a “geek-hotline”
P2, I4
• S1- We might not finish production on-schedule
 Mitigation- Use AGILE to put out basic working software to ensure we
have a product to sell
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Consumer Spending Constraints
• Economy is still struggling9, but improving
• Home users and small businesses are on tight
budgets
• Need to price competitively
Unemployment % rate over the last ten years (source: USDL)
1 March 2012
From Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey9
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Local Versus Remote Network
• Connecting to remote nodes can be expensive
• The speed of the connection over local links is
typically faster
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Storage Media
• New storage media should not have to be
purchased
• Use all available storage media to ensure that
even if a component drive fails, the integrity
of the backup is maintained
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Competitors Prices
• Top competitors and their prices
– NovaBACKUP costs $44.95
– DT Utilities PC Backup costs $49.99
– Genie Backup Manager costs $49.95
– Acronis True Image costs $49.99
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Pricing Factors
• Ad Hoc can be developed:
– With little hardware
– In a small facility
– With minimal staff
• Ad Hoc has an advantage in all three areas and
can be cheaper than the competition
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Ad Hoc Pricing
• Single license pricing would accommodate a
household network
– $35 to $40
• Volume license would accommodate small business
networks
– Price to be determined
• Return on Investment: Ad Hoc Network Backup pays
for itself many times over for even one data recovery
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Can it be done?
• No “new” technologies are being
implemented.
• We have the resources to develop and test.
• Our modular design allows modular
development.
Yes, it can be done.
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Should it be done?
• Statistics show there is a need for a small
business backup solution.
• The current risks are not debilitating.
• Little capital is needed to begin development.
Yes, it should be done.
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References
1. Ko, Carol. Tech Managers Often Underestimate Impact of Data Loss. June 21, 2009.
(http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/167077/tech_managers_often_underestim
ate_impact_of_data_loss.html). February 26, 2012.
2. HP and Score: Counselors to America’s Small Business. Impact on U.S. Small Business of
Natural & Man-Made Disasters. 2007.
(http://www.edwardsinformation.com/content/ImpactofDisaster.pdf). February 26, 2012.
3. Smith, David M. and Williams, Michael L. Data Loss and Hard Drive Failure: Understanding
the Causes and Costs. 2010. (http://www.deepspar.com/wp-data-loss.html). February 26,
2012.
4. Pinheiro, Eduardo, Weber, Wolf-Dietrich, and Barroso, Luiz Andre. Failure Trends in a Large
Disk Drive Population. February 2007.
(http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/research.google.com
/en/us/archive/disk_failures.pdf). February 26, 2012.
5. PRWEB. 4th Annual Backblaze Data Backup Study Finds 94% of People Risk Data Loss. July 12,
2011. (http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/7/prweb8638582.htm). February 26,
2012.
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References
6. Rusen, Ciprian Adrian. The Complex & Surprising Anatomy of a Home Network. April 4, 2011.
(http://www.7tutorials.com/complex-often-surprising-anatomy-home-network). February
26, 2012.
7. Breeding, Marshall. Designing and Building the Best Small Office Network From the Ground
Up. (http://www.networkcomputing.com/netdesign/soho1.html). February 26, 2012.
8. Dines, Rachel; Kane, Christian. Update Q4 2010: The Universe of Corporate PC Backup
Options. November 18, 2010.
9. US Department of Labor (USDL). Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey.
February 26, 2012.
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Questions?
Thank You for your Attention and Time
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