Posted By jsklavounos
Hi Everyone!
An important part of protecting your data should include a method to actually destroy the data. Imagine this scenario:
You back up your data daily to a tape and rotate the tapes every two weeks, allowing you to have one week’s worth of tapes off-site. So far so good. After a few cycles you retire the tape set and replace it with a new set so you can be sure that you don’t run into the typical mechanical failures associated with tapes. Now you throw out the old tape set and go home to relax.
It seems good to this point, but there is a potentially huge headache for you. We skipped destroying the data before the media was discarded. Your data can now potentially be read (especially if you didn’t encrypt it) by anyone with a tape drive - and don’t convince yourself that nobody wants to see your data. While the information contained in your backups may not be directly usable, resourceful data thieves may be able to use it to get at more financially rewarding (to them) information.
Basically the point is: Destroy your discarded backup data - you never know who will see it!!!
All my best - John
Posted By jsklavounos
I’m back! I had an interesting issue occur today that I thought could help you all out.
When you need to recover data that is synchronized between multiple data stores or database types, you have to make sure (in general) that you recover all the data to the same point in time.
For instance, we have a client who runs a Microsoft SQL server that has data which is in sync with Intuit Quickbooks. It took a while to figure out why the custom application was failing, but when we narrowed it down to the mismatched data - the client admitted to us that they restored the QB file alone. The solution was simple - restore both to the same point in time and we were good to go.
The lesson here is to document the recovery requirements from an application and operations perspective, don’t just rely on having all your data backed up.
Posted By jsklavounos
Hello Everyone, We’ve added a funformational video about backups starring John Cleese (of Monty Python fame). Check it out, it’s onthe front page of the National Data Protect website… Just click the play button on the front page and enjoy. Thanks! John
Posted By jsklavounos
Recently, I’ve been asked about various methods of backup and why perform one versus another. To make it a little more clear, I’d like to explain why a strategy of layered protection can be the most effective way to guarantee your ability to restore the data you need relatively quickly.
The first layer (and arguably the most important) is to make sure your data is sent off-site. Keeping your data at least 50 miles away from your main location will protect you from failures that involve environmental factors such as severe weather, blackout / brownout, building failures (cooling, electrical, etc…) and even flooding and fire.
The second layer is to keep your data on a locally accessible device that will allow you to quickly recover from local hardware failures. This protects you from server hardware failures such as drive crashes, fried motherboards and even slips of the finger.
Finally, the third layer is to include file versioning. Considering that several kinds of malware can attach themselves to your files (executable and non-executable) and be subsequently backed-up, you want to be able to roll back your files to a point before the infection.
When you implement a recovery solution that includes all of these features, it is difficult to imagine a scenario where you can’t restore the data you need.
Check http://www.NationalDataProtect.com for your total Backup & recovery solutions!