Chapter TWENTY ONE. Backup Strategies

Chapter Syllabus

21.1 Choosing a Backup Method

21.2 Selecting and Installing Hardware

21.3 Selecting and Installing Software

21.4 Determining a Backup Tape Rotation Scheme

21.5 Planning for Offsite Storage

21.6 Planning for Disaster Recovery

21.7 Using the StorageWorks Backup Sizing Tool

This chapter explains how to do the following:

• Choose a backup method.

• Select and install backup hardware.

• Select and install backup software.

• Determine a backup tape rotation scheme.

• Plan for offsite storage.

• Plan for disaster recovery.

• Use the HP StorageWorks Backup Sizing tool.

RAID and other fault-tolerant systems protect data against drive failures, but only a backup system can protect against deleted files, natural disasters, or theft. Backup processes copy important information to magnetic tape or other permanent storage media. This enables you to restore one file or an entire system, depending on the circumstance.

The media and devices for performing backups are often referred to as secondary storage to distinguish them from primary storage, which refers to the disks where data is stored for immediate access and use.

To develop a successful company-wide backup strategy, you must understand the network architecture and the demands placed on the system by its users.

Equipped with that information, you can then conduct a network or enterprise backup needs analysis. This needs analysis will help you (1) determine which data must be backed up, (2) understand when and how often data is modified, and (3) establish the best time to perform the backups.

To create and implement an effective backup solution, you need to do the following:

• Choose a backup method.

• Select and install hardware.

• Select and install software.

• Determine a backup tape rotation scheme.

• Plan for offsite storage of backup media.