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| 05 | 2006 |
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| Data Protection, Loss & Recovery |
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Last year Network World posted results from a survey sponsored by Ontrack Data Recovery which found that “only 13% of those surveyed think to contact their IT department first before attempting to recover missing data themselves.” The end result for the other 87 percent is not only frustration, but possible permanent damage. With today’s increasing reliance on technology, backing up data is a vital step, but it’s the ability to recover that data in a timely manner that effects the bottom line.
Whether it’s a hardware failure, a malicious virus, or a natural disaster, there are numerous events that could affect your data. As part of your business continuity and disaster recovery planning, every business should include these three steps to insure data protection:
(1) Make sure you have an effective backup system in place
(2) Store your backups in a safe, offsite location
(3) Test your backup system to insure quick and complete data recoverability
Backing Up Your Data
With the vast selection of backup systems on the market, and growing daily, it can be a daunting task to determine which one works best for you. We’ve compiled a list of some of the options available on the market today. We recommend having more than one system in place, and that you consult and include your IT Department or ISP in your planning.
Tape backups – Tape backups are quickly becoming obsolete as the only data recovery solution. They require a manual backup of data, usually at night, which leaves a window of vulnerability between backups. In addition, for companies with their servers in-house, it makes it difficult to constantly keep the backup tapes in a secure, off-site location.
Disk-to-Disk backups – A RAID system is generally used for Disk-to-Disk backups; Raid is available as both a software and hardware product and scalable for use on individual computers to large networks. Because it uses a mirroring system to write to the backup drive, it offers continuous data protection and a faster recovery time than tape backups. “[Disk-to-disk backup] is more reliable - 100% of data is restored in a disaster recovery, which is more than the generally accepted 75% to 80% with tape. It is more cost effective - our customers have cut their costs by up to 60%. And it supports remote offices much better, with automation, central control and no single point of failure," according to Ed Jones, director of Thinking Safe.
Online Backup Systems – Online systems are a growing trend in data protection. They offer continuous data protection and fast recovery times. Looking ahead, these systems will eventually offer the ability to recover data at specific points in time and provide a self-service recovery feature. According to Computer World’s synopsis of a media conference speech by Ray Paquet, vice president and research director for Gartner, “in 2005-06 the spotlight is on recovery time, and the goal is to be able to recover quickly, in 2007-08, the focus will be on ‘recovery points,’ – losing less data, and in 2008, on end user self-service recovery.”
Future considerations regarding data integrity should also be taken when determining your backup solution. Both the degradation of storage media and the obsoletion of the software and hardware needed to extract the data pose long-term concerns. Just over the last 10 years, we have seen the floppy disk come and go, the Zip disk make its short debut, and other forms of software and hardware enter the market and shortly thereafter become virtually obsolete. In addition, while the archival quality of CDs, DVDs and tape back-ups are better than some of the old methods, they are still prone to degradation. These factors make it even more important to use more than one backup system, and to consider migrating your data to a more modern system every few years. In addition, archival data should utilize a storage system which standardizes the format of your data. For example, videos and photos can be archived in the standard formats of MPEGs and JPEGs to enable quick and easy retrieval of these items in the future.
Storing your Backups
Storing your backed up data in a secure, offsite location is a vital step to ensuring a quick recovery. If you are storing tapes, disks, backup drives or other storage media, make sure they are in a safe, temperature-controlled environment away from extreme heat or cold and direct sunlight.
Any data stored in an off-site location should also be encrypted. While encrypted data can mean a longer recovery time, unencrypted backups leave you vulnerable to data theft.
Data Testing and Recovery
Your backups are only as good as your ability to recover the data. According to a recent White Paper published by LiveVault, a “study by Storage Magazine revealed that only 37% of businesses actually test their backups regularly, and of those that did, an alarming 77% found they were unable to fully recover data from those tapes.” Regardless of which backup system you use, data is still vulnerable to human error, damaged or corrupt tapes, hard drive failure and a variety of other predators. Backing up your data is not enough. Your backups should be tested regularly to insure the data is complete and error-free.
As our reliance on technology and the amount of data we have increases, a reliable, efficient backup system becomes a necessary step in protecting and being able to recover data. Companies should consider more than one solution, follow the complete lifecycle of backing up data (setup, storage and testing), and consider the long-term concerns of degradation and obsolete software and hardware when archiving data.
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About The Brookfield Group
The Brookfield Group has become a leader in IT, ISP, ASP and web solutions by providing next level technology solutions managed by experts who give you peace of mind without the tech-talk. The company's services are customized to fit any enterprise-size businesses and include: IT project management; hosting solutions and maintenance; systems security and patches; telecommunications services, server and desktop setup, repair and applications; network infrastructure design; audio visual products; surveillance and security solutions; as well as a variety of other software, hardware, services and accessories. Located in Carmel, Indiana, more information about The Brookfield Group products and services is available at www.thebrookfieldgroup.com or by calling 317.524.6000.
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