It’s hard to overstate the importance of server backups for businesses; in case of emergency, they let you recover easily and minimize lost business during downtime. Without backups on hand, you can be caught unawares and lose your website, client information, financial records, etc. To best protect your business, enlist IT help in Dallas before an emergency strikes and find a backup solution that works for you. Keep these tips in mind as you prepare a plan for server backups.
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Types Of Backups
Backups do carry a cost in time and resources—the time it takes to back up data, the storage space to keep the backups in and the expected recovery time following data loss. There are three broad categories of backups that approach this in different ways: full backups contain a complete copy of a server (also called a system image), incremental backups record a sequence of data changes between images, and differential backups compile changes since the last full backup into a single image. A full backup provides total coverage, but you usually can’t afford to copy an entire machine repeatedly, so most backup strategies will combine full backups with incremental or differential backups.
Redundancy Is Key
A backup is invaluable when disaster strikes your main database, but what do you do if the backup is also lost? To circumvent this single point of failure, arrange for backups to be stored in multiple locations; at least one should be onsite for quickest access, but the rest should be elsewhere. Doing so will give you extra insurance against large-scale emergencies, such as earthquakes or hurricanes. You may have these backups on company hardware, or you may consult a business that provides server storage and backup Plano.
Prioritize Your Data
Because of the time and effort that goes into backups and restores, it’s a good idea to focus on the most valuable data. The core database or accounting records may get backed up after every major change, while key documents and emails can be backed up once a week at least. Conversely, you shouldn’t need to back up every individual computer in the office that often.
Trial Restores
Performing regular trial restores is recommended by many in the IT industry. External storage can suffer from damage, corruption and bit rot just as your main servers could, sometimes going unnoticed until attempted access, and it’s better to find that a backup is damaged before you actually need it. Also, you’re not testing just the backup itself but also the disaster recovery process—this keeps you sharp so you know what to do when failure happens.
By working with IT professionals and consultants to create a backup and disaster recovery plan, you make your business more reliable and resilient, benefiting both yourself and your clients.