Data Backup

Question 1

Data backup definition:

Answer 1

Data backup refers to creating a copy of important data in case the original data is lost or corrupted.

Question 2

General notes:

Answer 2

• not properly backing up your data makes you much more susceptible to attack, especially ransomware (instead of having to either negotiate with the attacker or find a means of unencrypting your data, you can just wipe your system and upload your backup)

Question 3

Step one of data backup strategy:

Answer 3

1: Identify important data
- if you choose not to prioritize particular sets of data and instead back up everything, you’ll more than likely be wasting an absolutely atrocious amount of resources. Backups should be preformed on a daily basis (or even more frequently if you can help it), so you’ll want to trim down the load as much as you feasibly can

Question 4

Step two of data backup strategy:

Answer 4

Step 2: Choose the appropriate backup media (usb’s, htd’s, ssd’s, pci’s, etc)
- pay attention to the history of the brand and their general track record to determine whether or not they’d be reliable

Question 5

Step three of data backup strategy:

Answer 5

Step 3: Choose the appropriate backup technology
- choose between a proprietary or free solution. The free solution will often take a lot more knowledge and work on the part of whomever is performing the backup, so take this into account in regard to the long-term. I.e. for a company, you may have to train someone for an extended amount of time if you were to choose the free solution, and if the price of the training were to outweigh the price of the proprietary solution, then you’d be better off going w/ the proprietary.
(minor note: the proprietary solution may actually provide training in the advertised price)
- Does the solution provide all the features that’ll be required in order to perform the sort of backup you are attempting to perform ?

Question 6

Step four of data backup strategy:

Answer 6

Step 4: Choose the appropriate RAID levels:
- example 1:
one RAID level makes it so that the OS will view many disks as a single disk, so if any of the included disks receive a piece of information, they all will (I’m not totally sure if this point is correct, I’mma be honest). So, if one backup disk fails, you’ll have other’s to fall back on (essentially a backup for your backup)
- example 2:
alternatively, you could have another RAID level that identifies 3 separate disks as A, B, and C. Disk C contains your backup data, and A and B each contain opposite halves of the data on disk C so that if disk C fails, you can reconstruct it’s data from disks A and B w/out necessarily storing the entirety of disk C’s data on them (in some circumstances, this is probably more safe in terms of security)
- RAID levels can also be utilized to drastically increase read and write speeds, though doing so may increase the risk of data loss in some cases

Question 7

Step five of data backup strategy:

Answer 7

Step 5: Choose the appropriate backup method

• possible methods include hot backups, cold backups, and warm backups.
• hot backup is performed when the system is still in use (think along the terms of a google drive document)
• cold backup is only performed when the system is not in use (often performed every night, so yesterday’s working data may be backed up, but today’s is not)
• warm backup is performed periodically while the system is still in use (so, a sort of middle ground between hot and cold backup)

Question 8

Step six of data backup strategy:

Answer 8

Step 6: Choose the appropriate backup location

• possible locations include offsite, onsite, and cloud
• onsite: same building, maybe even the same room. Easier access, but you’re making your backup servers susceptible to the same dangers that your standard servers are susceptible to, so this choice would nearly negate the purpose of the backup
• offsite: backup servers are placed in another building, city, country, etc. Generally a better idea than onsite
• cloud: probably the most secure option in terms of preventing data loss, and also probably the most cost effective. (Ermin’s account: he talked to some Google technicians and they told him that they themselves triplicate all data that people put on their servers (this decreases the likelihood of data loss but can also lead to a loss of privacy))

Question 9

Step seven of data backup strategy:

Answer 9

Step 7: Choose the backup type

• Full backup: backs up all data. Most costly.
• Incremental backup: backups up all data that has been altered from the previous backup. Doesn’t allow for as much overhead, but less costly. You must perform a full backup before implementing an incremental backup routine.
• Differential backup: combination of full and incremental backup. Backs up all changes that have been made since the last 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 backup. The differences between differential and incremental backups are trivial at a bare minimum (Ermin’s words, I trust our big-brained ‘puter boy)

Question 10

Step eight of data backup strategy:

Answer 10

Step 8: Choose the appropriate backup solution
- the appropriate backup solution is just the result of all the choices you’ve made in regard to this up to this point. In this step, I think you’re really just meant to put it all together as one cohesive solution.

Question 11

Step nine of data backup strategy:

Answer 11

Step 9: Perform a recovery test (a.k.a. a drill test)
- generally, you want to perform a recovery test twice a year to ensure that it’s functional

(note this: if there’s a shortcut on the test in regard to backups that says “DR”, know that it stands for “Data Recovery”)

Question 12

All steps of Data Backup Strategy (memorize this):

Answer 12

1. Identify important data
2. Choose the appropriate backup media
3. Choose the appropriate backup technology
4. Choose the appropriate RAID levels
5. Choose the appropriate backup method
6. Choose the appropriate backup location
7. Choose the backup type
8. Choose the appropriate backup solution
9. Perform a recovery test