In information technology, a backup or the process of backing up is making copies of data which may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.

Backups have two distinct purposes. The primary purpose is to recover data after its loss, be it by data deletion or corruption. Data loss is a very common experience of computer users. 67% of Internet users have suffered serious data loss. The secondary purpose of backups is to recover data from an earlier time, according to a user-defined data retention policy, typically configured within a backup application for how long copies of data are required.

Though backups popularly represent a simple form of disaster recovery, and should be part of a disaster recovery plan, by themselves, backups should not alone be considered disaster recovery. Not all backup systems or backup applications are able to reconstitute a computer system, or in turn other complex configurations such as a computer cluster, active directory servers, or a database server, by restoring only data from a backup.

Since a backup system contains at least one copy of all data worth saving, the data storage requirements are considerable. Organizing this storage space and managing the backup process is a complicated undertaking. A data repository model can be used to provide structure to the storage. In the modern era of computing there are many different types of data storage devices that are useful for making backups. There are also many different ways in which these devices can be arranged to provide geographic redundancy, data security, and portability.

Data repository models

Any backup strategy starts with a concept of a data repository. The backup data needs to be stored somehow and probably should be organized to a degree. It can be as simple as a sheet of paper with a list of all backup tapes and the dates they were written or a more sophisticated setup with a computerized index, catalog, or relational database. Different repository models have different advantages. This is closely related to choosing a backup rotation scheme.

Unstructured

An unstructured repository may simply be a stack of floppy disks or CD-R/DVD-R media with minimal information about what was backed up and when. This is the easiest to implement, but probably the least likely to achieve a high level of recoverability.

Full only / System imaging

A repository of this type contains complete system images from one or more specific points in time. This technology is frequently used by computer technicians to record known good configurations. Imaging is generally more useful for deploying a standard configuration to many systems rather than as a tool for making ongoing backups of diverse systems.

Incremental / Differential

An incremental style repository aims to make it more feasible to store backups from more points in time by organizing the data into increments of change between points in time. This eliminates the need to store duplicate copies of unchanged data. Typically to start out, a full backup (of all files) is made. After that, any number of incremental or differential backups can be made. Restoring a whole system to a certain point in time would require locating the last full backup taken previous to that time and all the incremental / differential backups that cover the period of time between the full backup and the particular point in time to which the system is supposed to be restored. Additionally, some backup systems can reorganize the repository to synthesize full backups from a series of incrementals.

Managing the data repository

Regardless of the data repository model or data storage media used for backups, a balance needs to be struck between accessibility, security and cost. These media management methods are not mutually exclusive and are frequently combined to meet the needs of the situation. Using on-line disks for staging data before it is sent to a near-line tape library is a common example.

On-line

On-line backup storage is typically the most accessible type of data storage, which can begin restore in milliseconds time. A good example would be an internal hard disk or a disk array (maybe connected to SAN). This type of storage is very convenient and speedy, but is relatively expensive. On-line storage is quite vulnerable to being deleted or overwritten, either by accident, by intentional malevolent action, or in the wake of a data-deleting virus payload.

Near-line

Near-line storage is typically less accessible and less expensive than on-line storage, but still useful for backup data storage. A good example would be a tape library with restore times ranging from seconds to a few minutes. A mechanical device is usually involved in moving media units from storage into a drive where the data can be read or written. Generally it has safety properties similar to on-line storage.

Off-line

Off-line storage requires some direct human action in order to make access to the storage media physically possible. This action is typically inserting a tape into a tape drive or plugging in a cable that allows a device to be accessed. Because the data is not accessible via any computer except during limited periods in which it is written or read back, it is largely immune to a whole class of on-line backup failure modes. Access time will vary depending on whether the media is on-site or off-site.

Managing the backup process

It is important to understand that backing up is a process. As long as new data is being created and changes are being made, backups will need to be updated. Individuals and organizations with anything from one computer to thousands (or even millions) of computer systems all have requirements for protecting data. While the scale is different, the objectives and limitations are essentially the same. Likewise, those who perform backups need to know to what extent they were successful, regardless of scale.

Objectives

Recovery point objective (RPO)

The point in time that the restarted infrastructure will reflect. Essentially, this is the roll-back that will be experienced as a result of the recovery. The most desirable RPO would be the point just prior to the data loss event. Making a more recent recovery point achievable requires increasing the frequency of synchronization between the source data and the backup repository.

Recovery time objective (RTO)

The amount of time elapsed between disaster and restoration of business functions.

Data security

In addition to preserving access to data for its owners, data must be restricted from unauthorized access. Backups must be performed in a manner that does not compromise the original owner's undertaking. This can be achieved with data encryption and proper media handling policies.

Backup window

The period of time when backups are permitted to run on a system is called the backup window. This is typically the time when the system sees the least usage and the backup process will have the least amount of interference with normal operations. The backup window is usually planned with users' convenience in mind. If a backup extends past the defined backup window, a decision is made whether it is more beneficial to abort the backup or to lengthen the backup window.

Performance impact

All backup schemes have some performance impact on the system being backed up. For example, for the period of time that a computer system is being backed up, the hard drive is busy reading files for the purpose of backing up, and its full bandwidth is no longer available for other tasks. Such impacts should be analyzed.

Scheduling

Using a job scheduler can greatly improve the reliability and consistency of backups by removing part of the human element. Many backup software packages include this functionality.

Authentication

Over the course of regular operations, the user accounts and/or system agents that perform the backups need to be authenticated at some level. The power to copy all data off of or onto a system requires unrestricted access. Using an authentication mechanism is a good way to prevent the backup scheme from being used for unauthorized activity.

Chain of trust

Removable storage media are physical items and must only be handled by trusted individuals. Establishing a chain of trusted individuals (and vendors) is critical to defining the security of the data.

HP Data Protector

HP Data Protector software is automated backup and recovery software for single-server to enterprise environments, supporting disk storage or tape storage targets. It provides cross-platform, online backup of data for Microsoft Windows, Unix, and Linux operating systems.

For business- and mission-critical applications, HP Data Protector Zero Downtime Backup leverages array-based solutions to offload processing from the server and perform backup operations on a copy of the production data. HP Data Protector Instant Recovery retrieves data from the replicated images on disk for recovery to specific points in time.

Symantec Backup Exec

Backup Exec is proprietary backup software currently developed by Symantec. Backup Exec has a long history of being sold from one company to another. Its earliest roots stretch back to the early 1980s when Maynard Electronics created a bundle of software drivers to help sell their tape drive products. Today, Backup Exec is a data protection solution that provides continuous disk-to-disk-to-tape backup and recovery. Continuous protection is now available for Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server in addition to file servers and workstations, eliminating daily backups and providing point-in-time recovery.

We are one of the well known Enterprise Backup Solution Provider in India. Successfully Partnered with Symantec Veritas and Netbackup. We also provide Disaster Recovery Solution to our clients as we have Disaster Recovery Specialist who are Disaster Recovery Integrator who provide Best DR Design.

Enterprise Backup Solutions are fully certified and support data protection solutions from entry-level workgroups to enterprise-level datacenters. Compton guides to help you design, configure and implement a data backup solution along with protection solution.

Backup & Recovery Software: The Business Challenge

Backup and Recovery is more challenging than ever with exponential data growth, sprawling virtualized environments, ever shrinking backup windows, and escalating storage and tape costs. Conventional solutions have not kept up with these demands forcing substantial investments in hardware and dramatically increased administrator workload.

CommVault® Backup Solution
CommVault® Simpana® Backup and Recovery software delivers dramatic operational efficiencies, unsurpassed recovery management, and helps reduce up to 90% of backup and archive data on disk and tape supporting data centers, remote offices and laptops all managed from a single console.
Through the delivery of unique and innovative global embedded software deduplication technology CommVault offers a holistic approach to deduplication that spans both disk and tape. This end-to-end approach expands the benefits of block-level deduplication across an entire organization’s backup and archive copies. Data reduction begins at the client and spans through, and includes, off-site tape copies.

Advanced continuous data protection and recovery features increase reliability by approximately 20% and recoveries by up to 77%. SnapBackup protection capabilities integrate with hardware-based snapshot technologies to eliminate the backup window and create persistent application and data consistent backup copies directly from snapshots virtually eliminating the need for an operational backup window.

CommVault Backup and Recovery software includes a host of options designed to simplify the management of VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V virtualized environments. Auto-discovery helps eliminate time consuming manual processes, while ensuring users meet their protection/recovery service level agreements. Users can conduct backups in an efficient off-host mode to minimize the impact on production and move just the delta changes to ensure seamless scalability.

Additionally, users benefits from a broad range of recovery and backup utility options from single files to virtual disks to the entire machine; and cross platform restores from virtual systems to physical servers, or across virtual platforms such as recovering a VMware image directly to a Microsoft Hyper-V system.

We would be eager to partner with you in your endeavor to success, please Contact Us so that our consulting team can engage with you to offer powerful business solution which form bases of your success.