By: Madhusudan Soni
WHAT IS BACKUP?
Backup refers to the process of making copies of data or data files to use in the event the original data or data files are lost or destroyed. Secondarily, a backup may refer to making copies for historical purposes, such as for longitudinal studies, statistics or for historical records or to meet the requirements of a data retention policy. Many applications, especially in a Windows environment, produce backup files using the .BAK file extension.
Common mistakes made while doing a backup:
Now that we have looked at some of the issues around the importance of backups, let’s continue with some recommendations as well as some common mistakes made during the process.
Not doing a backup: This is without a doubt the most common mistake. Very often a backup was not done either due to not getting around to it or because of thinking the information wasn’t important—until it was lost.
Saving the backup copies on the same hardware as the original files: The idea of a backup is to make a copy for safekeeping. That copy must be stored in a location different from where the original files are kept. If they are stored on the same hardware and that hardware is damaged, the backup copies might be lost along with the originals.
Not testing the backup: Making a backup involves a series of processes. It isn’t enough to just create a copy – you also need to check the files to verify that the data you saved is actually accessible in case you need it. Indeed, testing your backups is just as important as backing up itself.
Not running the backup regularly and sufficiently frequently: It is important to make backup copies regularly, especially if the information is frequently updated. Imagine, for example, that you are writing a book in a word processing document and you only make a backup copy on the first of each month.
Not labeling the backup files: After running your backups, keep a record of which archive is from which hardware. In case you need to recover the data, it will be essential to do so on the right equipment.
BACKUP RECOVERY
Backup and recovery describes the process of creating and storing copies of data that can be used to protect organizations against data loss. ... Recovery from a backup typically involves restoring the data to the original location, or to an alternate location where it can be used in place of the lost or damaged data.
Why Backup and Recovery is important?
The purpose of the backup is to create a copy of data that can be recovered in the event of a primary data failure. Primary data failures can be the result of hardware or software failure, data corruption, or a human-caused event, such as a malicious attack (virus or malware), or accidental deletion of data. Backup copies allow data to be restored from an earlier point in time to help the business recover from an unplanned event.
Storing the copy of the data on separate medium is critical to protect against primary data loss or corruption. This additional medium can be as simple as an external drive or USB stick, or something more substantial, such as a disk storage system, cloud storage container, or tape drive. The alternate medium can be in the same location as the primary data or at a remote location. The possibility of weather-related events may justify having copies of data at remote locations.
THREE MAIN CATEGORIES OF BACKUPS PURPOSES
Disaster Recovery involves a set of policies, tools and procedures to enable the recovery or continuation of vital technology infrastructure and systems following a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems supporting critical business functions,[1] as opposed to business continuity, which involves keeping all essential aspects of a business functioning despite significant disruptive events. Disaster recovery can therefore be considered a subset of business continuity.[2][3] Disaster Recovery assumes that the primary site is not recoverable (at least for some time) and represents a process of restoring data and services to a secondary survived site, which is opposite to the process of restoring back to its original place.
Operational recovery is the recovery of specific parts of the IT infrastructure in the case of an IT failure or a relatively small incident. The recovered data can have various forms: a file, an email message, a database entry, an entire VM or a part of a VM.
While Disaster Recovery deals with the recovery of the infrastructure in case of an IT “crisis” (a disaster, or a high-impact negative event), Operational Recovery deals with to more “routine” failures – e.g. damaged data, accidental deletions or errors.
Operational recovery involves recovering data either from local snapshots (with the help of a product that allows this type of technology), or switching to alternate equipment, like a DR unit.
Archival backup is a type of data backup in which all files are to a backup storage device. Archival backups are also called full backup. Contrast with incremental backups, in which only modified files are copied. Archive is for space management and long term retention. An archival backup is a backup that is performed on any files or data that were changed since the last backup.
Comments