{"id":5621,"date":"2015-09-23T14:05:52","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T14:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backupassist.com\/blog\/?p=5621"},"modified":"2019-11-07T05:23:16","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T05:23:16","slug":"how-to-plan-a-watertight-backup-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backupassist.com\/blog\/how-to-plan-a-watertight-backup-strategy","title":{"rendered":"How to plan a watertight backup strategy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Server backup and recovery<\/a> isn’t something you can just wing. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. A solid backup strategy requires a lot<\/em> of foresight and planning – after all, there’s a serious potential that if disaster strikes, it could cripple your business if vital systems and data aren’t recoverable.<\/p>\n

If you’re just starting out planning your company’s server backup strategy<\/a>, you may feel a little overwhelmed. So in this article, we’re going to take a look at some core considerations you need to take into account. We won’t cover everything, because every environment will be different and to do so would require a full-length text book, but we’ll give you a good starting point.<\/p>\n

And don’t forget, our backup scenarios<\/a> guide is a great resource for further considerations we may not get to cover in this article.<\/p>\n

Determine Recovery Time and Recovery Point Objectives<\/h2>\n

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Before you start planning a backup strategy, you’re going to want to know what your goals are. Think of it this way: would you start planning a vacation before knowing where you’re going?<\/p>\n

When it comes to backup and disaster recovery<\/a>, knowing your goals means knowing Recovery Time Objectives and Recovery Point Objectives (RTO\/RPO). In the shortest possible terms, this basically means: how quickly do you need systems and data back online, and how much can you afford to lose?<\/p>\n

Figuring out your company’s RTO\/RPO requirements is no simple task. It’s going to differ for each and every business, and there are a lot of different variables you’ll need to factor in. As a good starting point, we would recommend reading this previous article we published on how to calculate RTO and RPO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Choose your storage destination\/s<\/h2>\n

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Once you’ve worked out our RTOs and RPOs, another important element of your strategy is to decide your storage devices for backups<\/a>. The storage destination that will best suit your business is going to depend on a lot of different factors.  There are a multitude of different options for storage destinations – HDD, SSD, RDX, cloud, tape, Blu-Ray… the list goes on.<\/p>\n

When weighing up storage destinations, it essentially boils down to looking at 3 core criteria, and weighing the pros and cons of each against what your business needs to meet its RTOs and RPOs.  These 3 criteria are:<\/p>\n