Backups, Part 2

What should I back up? How often should I back up? How many copies of my backup should I have? These are all great questions! Your backup should include your databases, e-mails, websites, file servers, applications, etc. Ideally, you should back up everything! You should also document your backup procedure as well as your various server configurations, security settings, network configurations, etc. Should you suffer from a total site disaster, your configuration information will be invaluable in recreating your infrastructure and get your business operational.

How often you back up also depends on how much data you can afford to lose. Some organizations have sophisticated backups involving live shipping of database transactions (changes) through the Internet to one or more remote storage sites. Most organizations perform a daily backup only. Their backup software creates a copy of the database somewhere on a local server within the network or on a tape device. Most of us know that these database copies should be taken off site in case of a site disaster such as a tornado, flooding, hurricane, etc.

Because storage devices (removable drives or tapes) are getting very inexpensive and therefore justify multiple copies of your backup. For example, you could create copies of your backup onto several servers (or workstations). You could also use 8 or more devices and use one each day (say Monday through Thursday) to get two weeks of “daily” backups. Then get another 8 devices and use one each Friday to get two months of “weekly” backups. Some companies will even have an additional “monthly” backup that gets recycled every five or so years. The latter may be going overboard for most nonprofit organizations.

Backups are not just for site disasters. We have seen many cases where an individual will inadvertently delete a file or record and no one may notice for months. Having backups going back that far could be invaluable in recovering this information.

As discussed earlier, you should use your off-site backup device to test a restore of your entire environment on a regular basis. Don’t use your network copy of the backup, these would typically not be available in a site disaster situation. Also, your procedures for creating your off-site devices could be flawed so testing such a restore from these devices is a must.