Backups and Disaster Recovery Are Not the Same Thing
“We have backups.”
Great.
Can you restore them?
That's the question that matters.
A Backup Is a Copy
A backup is simply another copy of your data.
That could be:
- A server image
- Database dump
- File backup
- Cloud backup
- External hard drive
- NAS snapshot
Having multiple copies is important.
But disaster recovery answers a different question:
How do we get the business operating again?
Imagine the Server Dies
Suppose a company's main server fails completely tomorrow morning.
A useful recovery plan should answer questions like:
- Where are the backups?
- Who can access them?
- Are passwords available?
- What hardware or cloud system will replace the failed server?
- How long will restoration take?
- Which systems get restored first?
- What happens to email?
- What happens to authentication?
- Has anyone tested this process?
Finding out during an emergency that nobody knows the encryption password isn't ideal.
The 3-2-1 Idea
A useful starting point is keeping multiple copies of important data, using more than one storage method, with at least one copy stored somewhere physically separate from the primary systems.
The exact strategy depends on the business.
A five-person company doesn't necessarily need the same infrastructure as a hospital.
But every business needs some answer to the question:
“What happens if this machine never turns on again?”
Test Your Recovery
I've always considered restore testing one of the most important—and most neglected—parts of backup administration.
A backup job saying SUCCESS tells you that software believes it copied something.
Actually restoring that data proves considerably more.
The worst time to test your backup plan is during the disaster it was supposed to protect you from.