New technologies, new options and new comfort
Last month, we focused on identifying crucial company data – where it is located, where it might be transmitted, and who has access to it. Now we’re ready to take the first step in protecting that data: backing it up. There are a few decisions we need to make first.
- What backup technologies are best?
- How often should we back up data?
- How much do we need to back up?
- Where will the backups be kept?
- How quickly might we need to restore data?
BACKUP TECHNOLOGIES
Thanks to advancements in memory, storage devices, local and wide area network bandwidth and RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology, the process of backing up data has changed a great deal.
Magnetic tape has long been the de facto standard backup medium. But tape is a legacy of large enterprise systems and it is technologically out of date. It’s bad enough when we learn that tapes containing our personal data have been lost or stolen, or left on a shipping dock or truck. But there are many tape snafus we don’t hear about – tapes that are damaged, mislabeled, mistakenly erased, or not verified or tested for restoration. Tape was a good solution in its day for large companies and extensive amounts of data. But other technologies now outperform it and provide much greater reliability.
RAID technology is the easiest type of backup to manage if the backed-up data is to be stored locally. In a RAID environment, data is automatically written to multiple hard disks simultaneously. So if one drive fails, the integrity of the backup is not at risk. This is an important consideration. The fact is, all hard drives will fail eventually. RAID backup solutions should be at the top of your shopping list for critical servers and workstations, regardless of the size of your business.
Other local hardware-based backup solutions come in many flavors, from a simple USB thumb drive to network-attached storage devices. Because of their portability, expansion potential and convenience, external hard drives are gaining popularity among small businesses.
The primary drawback of local hardware-based systems is that the integrity of the backup – the ability to restore the data intact – is often not tested or verified. It is critical to always test the reliability of your backups, no matter what approach you choose. An irretrievable backup is as bad as having no backup at all.
Another option is to engage a commercial data center specializing in automated data backup. These centers are popping up all over the country. They have become a popular alternative for the simple reason that they provide a “plug-and-play” solution. Remote backups encrypt and “virtualize” the data, making it accessible from anywhere – a useful attribute if you are unable to access your facilities after a flood or fire or other disaster.
Some experts have expressed concern about storing confidential data on someone else’s servers. But that hasn’t stopped these data centers from growing exponentially.
FREQUENCY & LOCATION
The choice of backup technologies often comes down to local vs. off-site. Local backups using a server or appliance are typically better suited for large amounts of data and quicker restoration times. Depending on available bandwidth, local solutions may also offer faster backup speeds.
Off-site backup is either the type of “virtualized” remote backup described above, or a separate physical facility. While having local backups is a great start, it is well worth considering a parallel offsite strategy in case your facility is inaccessible for any reason. Businesses storing data backups off-site are much more likely to recover after disaster strikes.
How often you back up your data depends on circumstances. Data that is already in archived storage does not need to be backed up with the same frequency as data that is frequently changing or being moved around the network.
When deciding the frequency of backups, consider how difficult it would be to roll your business back to any particular restoration point. How much data would have to be recreated? Do you have the resources necessary to recreate the data from the restore point forward?
Consider, too, how much data you will need to back up in the future. You can estimate your storage capacity needs by looking at the growth of the company over time and the typical rate of change in data. Remember, though, that once the baseline data is backed up, only files that have changed will need to be backed up again. An incremental approach to backups is the most efficient way to protect rapidly changing data.
LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
If the threat of losing your data to a natural disaster isn’t enough to convince you to invest time and money in backups, consider the legal ramifications.
The term “e-discovery” means the ability to discover and retrieve electronic data in a timely fashion. Court systems throughout the country are requiring that business data be archived in case of litigation. Documents covered by e-discovery requirements now include e-mail that pertains to any projects or programs, documents and other files associated with those projects or programs, and any other data stored electronically, such as instant messaging and Skype conversations. All company data is subject to subpoena and must be backed up, logged and retrievable in case it is required by the court. Check with your attorney to ensure you understand your risk exposure in this area.
Because implementing a backup strategy means investing in hardware and/or contracting with an external supplier for offsite storage, it’s important that you consider all of these ramifications before making a decision. But it will be a weight off your mind when it’s done. After all, the company’s data is at stake, and you never know when disaster will strike.
Next month: The Risks of Malware. n