Best Practices for Backup & Recovery

Backup and recovery processes avoid data loss for you or your network users. You back up your files to an external storage device. These devices are used to recover any files or programs installed on the computer. Best practices secure your data and make it quicker for recovery.

1.Significance
Backups are often neglected, since a network server or computer generally functions properly. However, if the hard drive crashes, servers containing critical components such as a database or user permission settings are no longer able to handle client requests. This causes businesses to lose money in employee performance. If websites are attached to the server's database, your online website won't function.

2.Types
The administrator can back up to the local hard drive or an external device such as a DVD, CD or external hard drive. If the hard drive fails, having the backup on the hard drive means you lose your backup information as well. For this reason, best practices include copying files to an external media such as a DVD, which is then stored in a safe location.

3.Considerations
Best practices also include keeping data safe. The media used to store the backups require security, so hackers are unable to gain access to the files. Administrators should also centralize the backup location for users, so users are able to copy files to one directory. This one directory is backed up and restored by the administrator in case of an emergency.


Source : eHow