IT support providers in LA commonly offer a number of pointers pertaining to backup strategy. One, you probably want to do more than just have your data backed up on one server elsewhere. You want to employ the 3-2-1 strategy; three backups on at least two separate kinds of media, one of which being located off-site.
Additionally, it makes sense to put a DRaaS solution in play. DRaaS is more than just rebooting data, it’s getting systems online sequentially in order to ensure functionality and data protection. It’s lining out effective recovery protocols for an unexpected emergency, and it’s also about testing what recovery options you have available.
What to Test
You’ve got to test multiple different areas of your recovery options in order to ensure comprehensive sustainability after an unexpected disaster knocks things offline. Three common areas that can help here include:
1. File Backup Spot Checks
IT support providers in LA advise businesses to check backup systems pertaining to means by which files are automatically safeguarded. As an illustrative example, consider the “time machine” function of Apple computers. This automatically backs up files and makes them available to users.
Go into time machine, look at an important file that was recently backed up. Pull it up from your backup drive and see if everything is there and functions as it should.
Do similar spot checks for other areas of automatic backup to ensure everything is being stored as it should. If files can’t be accessed after they’re backed up, they won’t be available in the aftermath of an emergency.
2. Effecting Full Restore as a Test
When you can, either during off-hours or a weekend, you need to test a full restore on specific areas of your network. Just like spot-checking file storing systems, rebooting a specific database can give you a clear idea of what does and doesn’t work.
3. Testing Full Database Recovery Protocols
Beyond spot-checking files and doing a full restore of certain systems, you need to, at intervals, test your total backup and recovery protocols. This should be done at periods in the year when business is at its slowest.
You’ll want to not just test recovery of data, but sequential reboot of networks. Sometimes systems are co-dependent, and this may not be noticeable until a backup must be orchestrated.
Reliable Data Protection
An IT support provider in LA like Advanced Networks can help you know which areas of backup should be tested. Full database recovery, a full restore of specific systems, and spot-checking files are integral steps. Different businesses will have different idiosyncratic needs, and the right MSP can help you comprehensively test for all of them.
