Backup and Recovery in Information Technology

In the realm of information technology, backup and recovery are critical processes designed to ensure the preservation and restoration of data. These processes are essential for maintaining data integrity, ensuring business continuity, and mitigating the effects of data loss due to various factors such as hardware failures, cyber-attacks, or natural disasters.

Backup

A backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original in the event of data loss. The primary objective of creating a backup is to provide a simple form of IT disaster recovery, which minimizes downtime and data loss.

Types of Backups

Full Backup: A complete copy of all data at a given point in time. It is the most comprehensive form but requires substantial storage space.
Incremental Backup: Only the data that has changed since the last backup is stored. This method is efficient in terms of storage but can be time-consuming during restoration.
Differential Backup: Similar to incremental backups, but this method saves all the data changed since the last full backup, requiring more storage than incremental backups but less than full backups.

Backup Methods

Onsite Backup: Data is stored on local storage devices like external hard drives or network-attached storage.
Offsite Backup: Data is stored at a different physical location, often using cloud services like Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud Platform.
Hybrid Backup: Combines onsite and offsite methods, providing a balance of speed and security.

Recovery

Data recovery is the process of retrieving inaccessible, lost, or corrupted data from secondary storage. The effectiveness of recovery relies heavily on the quality of the backup. Backup and Restore utilities, like those found in Windows 7, can create file and folder backups, as well as system image backups, to be used in the event of data loss.

Recovery Tools and Software

RMAN (Recovery Manager): A tool supplied for Oracle databases that automates backup and recovery tasks, ensuring consistent data protection.
Oracle Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance: Provides continuous data protection and validates backups automatically to ensure no data is lost.
Redo Rescue: A free backup and disaster recovery software that operates from a bootable Linux CD image.

Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is an integral part of backup and recovery strategies, ensuring that businesses can quickly resume operations after a catastrophic event. EVault and companies like Datto offer hybrid cloud-based backup and recovery services, giving organizations the flexibility and resilience they need.