How Data Backup Differs From Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery and data backup have a significant difference. In case one has backed up his data, it is not correct to believe it is a disaster recovery plan. For so many companies, there is a belief that the routine data backup operations are capable of covering them in case of a disaster or outage. Saying that your data has been backed up manually with the help of a computer recovery service or through certain software every night is definitely not a disaster recovery plan in place.

Facts in data recovery and backup

There is a clear difference in disaster recovery and data backup. Firstly, it is possible for backup software to fail or the individual doing the backup could fail to make this happen. At the same time, if data backup is done without thinking about recovery, it is almost equivalent to not backing up anything. You will find a number of steps you might need to follow if you will ever restore your information in case a backup is ever required. Such steps include getting the right recovery surroundings such as a storage, server and operating system, the right tools, processes and people so that the backup data can be brought back.

Failure of backup software

Across the world are so many reasons why your faith in a data backup tool could leave your operations in trouble. For example, a New Orleans Civil District court discovered they were in trouble when they tried to recover the mortgage and conveyance records of the county after one server crashed. Since no full restoration simulations and tests were done, they believed for years that they had installed an upgraded backup software version well, yet this was not the case. Indications from the software upgrade had, however, shown the process was successful. For almost a year, the court believed new records were being backed up as old copies were destroyed after every month. New and old entries of as far back as the 1980s were lost completely.

Back Up should motivate your recovery

An important thing is that any backup should have recovery in mind. It is important to avoid backing up data as if you will not need it ever again. Backup basics indicate that restoring data is not the major concern, but backing your data fast.

Data backup the first step

If you have successfully secured one copy of your data in a different location, you will discover it is the first thing in disaster recovery. The second important thing is ensuring the right systems of recovery have been connected to the data, meaning the right operating systems, hypervisors, storage and servers in a recovery surrounding are required. A recovery surrounding should reflect the production environment. It is not the easiest step; there are so many changes occurring daily within an assembly environment that IT administrators forget to capture.

The third important process is ensuring the right tools, processes and people required for the recovery are there when needed. Perhaps, the operating system is an older one or outdated, run-books are outmoded; the Windows professional is on vacation or the Oracle expert is missing and many other complications that could befall this step.