Tell us about your infrastructure requirements and how to reach you, and one of team members will be in touch shortly.
Let us know which data center you'd like to visit and how to reach you, and one of team members will be in touch shortly.
Tell us about your infrastructure requirements and how to reach you, and one of team members will be in touch shortly.
Let us know which data center you'd like to visit and how to reach you, and one of team members will be in touch shortly.
Data centers exist to store, process, and/or disseminate data. Part of their role is, therefore, to protect that data against hazards such as theft, loss, and corruption. Data backup and replication play a key role in keeping data safe. Offsite data backups are particularly important. Here is a quick guide to what you need to know.
Data backup and data replication share the common goal of data protection but they have significant differences in their specific uses and purposes.
Data backup is the process of creating a snapshot of data at a specific point in time. Its purpose is to enable businesses to restore their data to the state it was in at that point in time.
Data backups are typically used to protect against significant events such as large-scale data loss (including data theft) and corruption. In particular, data backups are an essential defense against ransomware attacks.
Data replication is the process of keeping data synchronized across two or more locations. Its purpose is to ensure operational continuity and provide a high level of convenience. For example, data replication allows staff to switch between devices and access their data seamlessly.
Replication also helps to improve resilience. In the event of a failure in the primary system, the replicated data can take over seamlessly, minimizing service interruptions.
With that said, the fact that replication is an ongoing process means that it can propagate errors or corruption. When this happens, businesses can undo the damage by restoring from a clean backup.
Everything to do with data backups starts with determining two key points. These are the recovery point objective (RPO) and the recovery time objective (RTO).
The RPO defines the maximum length of time you can go between backups. The RTO defines the maximum length of time you have to restore the data.
In other words, the RPO and the RTO define how much data you can afford to lose and how long you can afford to be without the data you do need.
Once you have determined this, you can then determine what backup strategy (or strategies) you will implement, where you will store your backups, and how long you will keep the data.
The three main types of backup are full, incremental, and differential
A full backup involves copying all data from the specified source to the backup storage. This type of backup provides a complete snapshot of the data at a particular point in time. Technically, it is the most comprehensive form of backup, but it requires significant storage space and time to complete. Full backups are typically performed less frequently due to these resource demands.
Incremental backups involve copying only the data that has changed since the last backup of any type (full or incremental). Technically, this method is efficient in terms of storage space and backup time because it captures only the new or modified data. Restoring from incremental backups can, however, be time-consuming because it requires the last full backup and all subsequent incremental backups to reconstruct the complete dataset.
Differential backups capture all data that has changed since the last full backup. Unlike incremental backups, they do not consider previous differential backups. This method strikes a balance between full and incremental backups, offering quicker restore times compared to incremental backups, since only the last full backup and the latest differential backup are needed. Differential backups do, however, require more storage space and time than incremental backups as they grow with each successive backup until the next full backup.
The longstanding rule of storing backups is known as the 3-2-1 rule. You want three copies of data, over two media with one copy stored offsite. If businesses are working in the cloud, then onsite means in the regular cloud and offsite means in another cloud.
This is considered the minimum standard for safety. You may wish to increase this for critical data. For example, you could keep two offsite backups, one in a physical location and one in a cloud.
Onsite backups are the most convenient option. Furthermore, they are perfectly suitable for many purposes. For example, if a change goes wrong, having an onsite backup allows it to be reversed as quickly as possible.
Offsite backups are, essentially, your defense against disruptions that affect your standard workplace. These can include hardware failures, natural disasters, and civil unrest).
Traditionally, offsite backups were kept in a secure, physical location. Now, cloud storage is also a popular option. Depending on your appetite for risk, you could use cloud storage on its own or store data in both the cloud and a physical location.
In today's rapidly changing business landscape, disruptions can occur at any time. This means it is crucial for companies to have an effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan (BCP/DRP). This article will outline the key components of BCP and DRP and discuss best practices for implementation and coordination to ensure long-term success.
This article will explore the definitions of business continuity vs disaster recovery, their importance, and how they complement each other to ensure an organization's resilience during and after disruptive events.
Discover the DataBank Difference today:
Hybrid infrastructure solutions with boundless edge reach and a human touch.
