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DA5. Discuss a Backup Plan

Statement

In Unit 5, we are introduced to the concepts of Data Backup and Recovery Plans. The readings discuss 10 and 14 tape rotations for a full backup schedule.

For your assignment, discuss the pros and cons of each option and discuss a third option by consulting a source from the required websites.

Solution

Backups are a critical part of any database system. They are used to protect against accidental loss of user data, database corruption, hardware failures, and natural disasters. Backup and recovery management is the responsibility of the DBA.

Backups should not be performed arbitrarily. However, a good backup strategy should be planned and executed regularly. When selecting a backup strategy, the following questions should be answered (Microsoft, 2013):

  • How important is the data?
  • What type of information does the data contain?
  • How often does the data change?
  • How quickly does the recovery process need to be?
  • What backup equipments are available?
  • Who is responsible for the backup process?
  • What is the best time for scheduled backups?
  • Do you need to store the backup data off-site?

There are different types of backups; each of them has its pros and cons. The most common types of backups are Full, incremental, and differential.

Depending on your business needs, and according to your answers to the above questions; combining different types of backups with an organized schedule can generate a good backup strategy that saves the business in the darkest of times while minimizing the running cost of the backup process.

Since businesses are similar to some extent, there are some general plans (schedules) that can be used in almost every business. The following are some of the most common backup plans:

  1. 10 Tape Rotation Plan.
  2. 14 Tape Rotation Plan.
  3. 3-2-1 backup strategy.

The first two plans rely on rotation; the rotation is done by using two separate sets of backup media (hardware or disks) and using each set for a week; The third plan is a more advanced plan that uses a different method to organize the backup process. The idea of the rotation is that it minimizes the damage to the backup media while maximizing its life expectancy. The text will discuss each method in detail.

The first method works best for a business that works only 5 days a week with no data entry changes during the weekends. Using 10 tapes separated into two sets of 5 tapes each, the first set is used for the first 5 days of the week, and the second set is used for the last 5 days of the week. The tapes are rotated every week. On the last day of each period (week), a full backup is performed, while the rest of the week differential backups are sufficient; if something goes wrong during the week, the differential backups can be added to the last full backup to restore the database to the state it was in before the problem occurred.

The second method is very similar to the previous one; however it uses 14 tapes instead of 10. The tapes are separated into two sets of 7 tapes each. The first set is used for the first 7 days of the week, and the second set is used for the last 7 days of the week. The tapes are rotated every week. This is suitable for businesses that have a 24/7 online presence and have data entry changes during the weekends. The same rules apply to the previous method.

The third method is a more advanced method that uses a different method to organize the backup process. The basic concept of the 3-2-1 backup strategy is that three copies are made of the data to be protected, the copies are stored on two different types of storage media and one copy of the data is sent off-site (Castagna, n.d). This method is considered the best backup strategy; the fact that you have multiple copies of the data solves the problem of losing data due to a single hardware failure; using different media helps in increasing compatibility and portability; and having a copy of the data off-site helps in protecting the data from natural disasters.

References