Backup Policies and Fault Tolerant Systems
Why can we lose data even with fail-safe systems? The mistakes that users make most often. Data on a hard drive or a memory card can be easily lost, but their recovery is very difficult. There are definitely more than seven common mistakes made by computer users who want to reliably store information. The Top list assembled here is the result of many years of answering our customers’ queries and helping our clients handle the various cases of data loss.
Backup Policies
This section lists errors related to an incorrect approach to backing up data. Absence of a backup copy of valuable data is the most common reason for contacting our company. Recognize yourself? You are our future customer!
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No Systematic Backup Strategy
Having no systematic backup is the most obvious reason of having to resort to data recovery tools (such as those provided by our company). Occasional backups will rarely help organizations and even individual users. Fresh *.avi, *.ppt, *.pst, *.tiff files are often the most important ones. Without a periodic daily backup, your backup strategy is incomplete.
No Backup Restoration Strategy
Having a backup strategy alone is not enough. Even if you back up your data daily, you must have a quick and easy way to restore information from the backup. One of the common issues with our clients is losing access to system boot disk, the very disk that contains backup and restore tools. Without these tools, customers are unable to restore data from their backups – even if they have backup files stored elsewhere.
Backup Implementation
Having a perfect daily backup and uninterrupted access to backup restore tools is not enough. Physical location of your backups as well as hardware media matters a lot.
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Keeping Backups in the Same Office or Building
If you keep your backup system or backup hard drive in the same office or building with your main system, the very event rendering your main system unusable will most probably destroy your backup as well. We had more than one case of customers losing their backups after a fire or electrical problem together with the main system.
Using Improper Backup Media
Are you reusing old tapes or have a dedicated external hard drive to store backups? Make sure they are reliable enough to let you read your data if you need to restore it! In addition, using identical hard drives in the main system and as a backup is a very bad idea, as hard drives from the same batch are very likely to fail one after another. Making backups to rewriteable optical media is also not the brightest idea, as rewriteable DVDs demonstrate much shorter shelf life compared to single-write media. And even single-write DVD-R discs must be stored properly in order to keep information.
Fault Tolerant Systems
Building a single fault-tolerant system is not enough to ensure data integrity.
Over-relying on RAID Arrays
Redundant or even mirrored RAID arrays will definitely increase data storage reliability. However, relying on a RAID array alone to keep your data safe is an extremely bad idea due to multiple factors, some of which are listed here as mistakes #3 and #4. Indeed, RAID arrays are often comprised of identical hard drives (which are likely to fail all at once), all of which are kept in a single rack or PC (which is prone to physical and electrical damage). In a word, a RAID array is no substitute to a good backup policy.
In the next article, we will consider the role of the human factor as a reason for losing important data.
Infographics
What steps can you take to recover lost data, according to the article?
How does power failure or electrical surge lead to data loss?
Power failure or electrical surge can lead to data loss in a number of ways. A power failure can cause the computer to shut down abruptly, which can cause any unsaved data to be lost. An electrical surge can cause physical damage to a computer’s hardware, such as the hard drive, which can lead to data corruption or destruction. Additionally, an electrical surge can cause a computer to become unresponsive, leading to further data loss.
Can human error lead to data loss, and if so, how?
Yes, human error can lead to data loss. Examples of human error that can lead to data loss include accidental deletion of files, accidental overwriting of files, and formatting of a hard drive. Additionally, data can be lost due to improper storage, such as not backing up data regularly, or storing data in an insecure environment. Finally, data can be lost due to malicious intent, such as a cyber attack or virus.
How can malware and viruses lead to data loss?
Malware and viruses can lead to data loss in several ways. Malware such as ransomware can encrypt or delete files, making them inaccessible or permanently lost. Viruses can corrupt files, making them unreadable or unusable. Malware and viruses can also damage or delete hard drive partitions, leading to data loss. Additionally, malware and viruses can cause system crashes, resulting in the loss of unsaved data.
What is the difference between hardware and software failure, and how do they cause data loss?
Hardware failure is when a physical component of a computer or network fails. This could be due to a mechanical failure, electrical failure, or any other type of physical issue. This type of failure can cause data loss if the hardware component stores data, such as a hard drive or RAM. Software failure is when a program or operating system fails to operate properly. This can be due to a coding error, a virus, or any other issue related to the software. This type of failure can cause data loss if the software is responsible for managing the data, such as a database or backup program.
Read backup policies and fault tolerant systems. If you do have any questions, don't hesitate to contact our technical support service - we will be happy to help you.