Select a backup strategy appropriate to the criticality of the data in your directory and your directory server software.
Consider using replication as your primary means of protecting against catastrophic equipment failures.
Even if replication is used to provide backup, traditional procedures such as backing up directory data to magnetic tape are still needed to protect against erroneous data update procedures that destroy directory data.
It is critical to safeguard your backups from damage and to ensure the security of the data they contain.
Backups should be verified to ensure that the data they contain is valid and can be successfully restored.
You should develop a disaster plan appropriate to your business needs and the types of disasters you may encounter.
Disaster recovery services can be provided in-house or purchased from a disaster recovery vendor (sometimes also called a business continuity service). In either case, costs of a disaster recovery plan are directly related to the speed with which services can be restored.
Understanding and Deploying LDAP Directory Services, 2002 New Riders Publishing