The Principles of Testing Your Backups

Backup and Recovery, data recovery, Local Backups, testing backup, ,
26
Dec 2017

A backup can be the difference between your business trading and not trading, but it’s crucial that you test your backup to make sure it works.It’s nice to have the safety net of a backup to keep your data close at hand in the case of a data emergency, but this alone can’t be a guarantee that it’s safe and recoverable. And that’s why I would always recommend that you test your backup to help make your restoration as seamless as possible.

Understanding what to test and what to look for is vital when it comes to safeguarding the data in your backup, so I’m going to take you through some of the most basic checks.

Putting Your Backup Under the Microscope

What are the most important factors to take into account when testing your backup? Well, you can’t go wrong with the following:

  • Restore to multiple locations – A common mistake made with restoring backups is to only test them on the intended server or PC that they will be restored to. However, in the case of a data emergency can you honestly know for sure that specific servers or PCs will still be working? It’s possible for hackers to destroy servers, so it’s important that backup solutions are available e.g. laptops and temporary servers. Make sure that backups to these locations are tested as there could be compatibility issues behind them that need eliminating.
  • Scan the restored directories – It’s highly important that you monitor exactly what gets restored during your test backups. Remember, unless you investigate the contents of a folder then you can’t know for sure exactly what is in there. This may sound labor intensive, but once you’ve tested your backup and confirmed that entire directories are being restored, there’s less need to worry.
  • Don’t Just Test Once – Your network’s properties can change on a daily basis, so – although it’s not essential to test on a daily basis – you want to make sure that regular tests are carried out over the course of each month to ensure that factors such as software updates and configuration changes are taken into account. By regularly testing your restore, you’re minimizing the room for errors when your data is restored.
  • Test ALL your applications – Your organization’s IT continuity relies heavily on the ability to have access to all your applications, so it’s essential that you make sure all of these work following a restore. After all, whilst having access to your databases will be highly beneficial, if you’re unable to access your email server then you’re going to face all manner of communication issues.
  • Safeguarding your restore process – Your backup may be capable of fully restoring all your data and ensuring that your organization can continue to operate, but what if your restore software doesn’t work or the procedures aren’t understood? This can present a severe problem, so make sure that you keep install disks of your restore software and, whilst testing, make sure you document the entire process as this knowledge can easily be lost.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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The Essential Local Backup Checklist

Backup and Recovery, data recovery, Local Backups, ,
05
Dec 2017

localbackup

Local backups are fantastic for ensuring backed up data is kept close to hand, but to make sure the most crucial data is there you need a good checklist.

You see, as with all backups, preparation is essential to ensure your local backup can help keep your organization functioning in the case of a data emergency. A good checklist avoids any disasters by making sure the right data is available and ready, but with so much data where do you start?

Well, let’s get started by showing you the essential points you need on your checklist.

Checklist

  • Up to Date? Whilst it’s important to have data available which goes back months (or even years in some cases), it’s just as vital that current documents are also backed up. Therefore, pick a document at random from your ‘Recent Documents’ history and verify that this document is available in your local backup – the last thing you want in the case of a data disaster is to have all of your most pressing work missing. 
  • How Many Versions? One version of a backed up document is great, but what’s even better is to have multiple versions of the same document backed up. Changes can be made to documents used over a long period of time and it’s always useful to keep the changes recorded in case of future queries. Keeping an archive of your local backups is important as it allows you to verify any changes that have been made when, in the case of data loss, this may be incredibly difficult to trace. 
  • Is Your Data Easily Accessible? A local backup provides quick access to your data when you need it most, but this is only of use if you know you have the facility to access it. For example, if your entire network goes down, do you know that you can access it with technology not connected to your network? It’s easy for data to be protected and not work on every backup laptop/PC so make sure you regularly check your backup technology to check it can read your optical drives and run any flash drives you use for storing data. 
  • Does the Recovery Process Work? As well as regularly checking that your backup hardware works, you also want to make sure that the recovery process works. Factor in a weekly check of your recovery process to confirm that folders can be rebuilt and files accessed with no problems. Eliminating any issues that could possibly occur when restoring your data will reduce the downtime your organization faces. 
  • Have You Automated What You Can? The nature of a local backup means that you can’t necessarily automate all aspects of your backup e.g. backing up data to a DVD requires plenty of human interaction. However, not only can you set yourself plenty of automatic reminders on your computer, you can also automate backups to external hard drives which are connected to your network. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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What Are Local Backups and Why Are They Important?

Cloud, External Hard Drive, Flash Drive, Local Backups, Security, , ,
21
Nov 2017

external-hard-drive-1200006_960_720

Local backups are one of the most popular forms of backing up data, so it’s a method that organizations should seriously consider for storing their data.

While cloud backups are grabbing all the headlines, they’re not necessarily the definitive answer to everyone’s backup needs. What’s more, local backup can easily run alongside cloud backup systems, so they’re not an option which should be dismissed.

As backup is such a critical business need in an era of huge data growth and ransomware threats, we’re going to take a look at what local backups are and what they can do for your business.

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What is Local Backup?

As the name suggests, local backup is any type of physical storage medium which is kept locally and can be quickly connected to a PC/network which requires a backup to be saved or restored. The most popular forms of local backup are:

  • External Hard Drives – These devices are now capable of holding huge amounts of data with 16TB (that’s 16,000GB) external hard drives available. Usually connected through USB ports, these hard drives provide a swift transfer of data and this is even quicker when USB 3.0 capabilities are present.
  • CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays – Optical drives may sound fairly limited in their storage capacities (a single layer Blu-Ray holds 50GB and a CD only 750MB), but they’re still highly popular for quick data storage that can be kept close at hand on a spindle.
  • Solid State Drives – USB and flash drives, again, are highly quick and simple methods for storing critical data which can be kept locally. The beauty of this small, but important method of backup is that implementing the backup data is easily achieved by simply plugging the medium into the PC.

What Can Local Backup Do for You?

Local backup solutions come with a number of benefits which mean they’re perfect for organizations and these can include:

  • Enhanced Security – External hard drives, optical drives and solid state drives are all protected by online threats such as hacking as they’re standalone pieces of kit. Once they’re disconnected from a PC or network there’s no way of them being hacked, so they represent a highly secure storage medium for your data.
  • You Have Full Control – One of the main drawbacks of cloud backups is that they tend to be operated by a third party contractor, so you never truly have full control and responsibility for your data. With local backup methods, however, your data is always safely under your own watch and does not leave your premises.
  • Quicker Transfer – Local backups have a much simpler structure than complex cloud backup systems, so your data can be transferred at a much quicker rate when necessary. This reduces downtime for your PC and network whilst also significantly reduces the time taken to monitor the backup process.

As a result, local backups represent a secure method of storing data with a number of benefits that cloud backups are unable to offer. However, many organizations are now embracing hybrid systems which utilize local and cloud backups to enhance the ability to retrieve data when it’s needed most.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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