Data Management Glossary
Backup
Backup (also see Data Backup) is the process of creating copies of data to protect against loss or damage. It involves making duplicate copies of important files, databases, applications, or entire systems, which can be used to restore the data in the event of a disaster, hardware failure, human error, or other unforeseen circumstances.
Key points about backup storage:
- Data Protection: The primary purpose of backups is to safeguard data and ensure its availability even in the face of data loss incidents. Backups serve as a safety net, allowing organizations and individuals to recover lost or corrupted data and resume normal operations.
- Backup Frequency: The frequency of backups depends on various factors, such as the criticality of the data, the rate of data change, and the desired recovery point objective (RPO). RPO determines the maximum acceptable amount of data loss in the event of a failure. Organizations may choose to perform backups daily, weekly, or in more frequent intervals based on their needs.
- Full and Incremental Backups: Different backup strategies can be employed, such as full and incremental backups. A full backup involves copying all data from the source to the backup storage. Incremental backups only copy the changes made since the last backup, resulting in smaller backup sizes and faster backups. A combination of full and incremental backups can provide a balance between data protection and storage efficiency.
- Backup Storage: Backups are stored on separate storage devices or media from the original data. This ensures that if the primary storage fails or becomes inaccessible, the backups remain unaffected. Common backup storage options include external hard drives, network-attached storage (NAS), tape drives, cloud storage, or off-site backup facilities.
- Data Recovery: When data loss occurs, backups are used to restore the lost or corrupted data. The recovery process involves retrieving the backup data and copying it back to the original or alternative locations. Depending on the backup strategy employed, recovery may involve restoring the latest full backup followed by incremental backups or directly restoring the most recent backup.
- Testing and Verification: It is important to regularly test backups and verify their integrity to ensure they are usable when needed. Regular restore tests help identify any issues or discrepancies in the backup data or the recovery process. Verification involves performing integrity checks on the backup files to ensure they are not corrupted or damaged.
Backup practices will vary depending on the scale of data, business requirements, and compliance regulations. Be sure to follow best practices, including having multiple copies of backups, storing backups off-site or in the cloud for disaster recovery, and regularly reviewing and updating backup strategies to align with changing data needs and technologies.
Many backup vendors talk about data management for the data they are backing up. Komprise is a data agnostic unstructured data management solution. Komprise partners with backup vendors and allow customers to know first, move smart and take control of file and object data with an analytics-driven Intelligent Data Management platform as a service.