6 Features Your Managed Data Back Solutions Need
Working with a vendor to set up managed backup solutions is an important investment in protecting your data. You may wonder, though, what you should be looking for in a managed data backup system. Here are 6 things all setups should include.
Small Blocks
To keep from constantly overwhelming your resources with backup efforts, the solutions you employ should only perform backups as changes occur. In other words, you don't want the system droning on for hours making backups of files that haven't changed in years. This requires accurate detection on the client-side and a similar level of accuracy when making comparisons to stored copies.
Multiple Versions
If a backup only stores the last revision of a file, it's going to eventually create problems. After all, you might make a couple of revisions in a matter of minutes. If one of those revisions has a massive mistake in it, you'll be out of luck if there aren't several older versions available.
Many managed backup solutions can be configured to produce a version structure for each revision of a file. These can be tagged with sequential indexes and timestamps to ensure they can be differentiated.
Snapshots
Especially when performing backups for mission-critical systems, you may need snapshots from time to time. These are complete copies of the files from a system, allowing you to restore the system to its last known working condition.
Recovery Methods
Although it's great to know everything is protected on a server, you'll also want to be able to perform recoveries quickly. This means using software that can be loaded on repaired or new systems once a disaster has been handled. The software will quickly identify which files need to be restored to the system, taking the guesswork out of the process.
End-to-End Encryption
Most customers will need some assurance that their data is going to be secure. The common solution is to encrypt all data transmissions from the client's end of the transaction until the data is stored on the server. Also, many customers will require encryption of the files stored on the server.
Make a point to have a long conversation with your managed data backup services provider about encryption. Ask them what the options are and how they assured everything will be secure.
Integrity Checking
With data transmitted and encrypted on a regular basis, there are plenty of ways it can become corrupted. A good system should store multiple copies and employ strong methods for confirming the integrity of your data.
Share