safe data, strong future: safeguarding your business and data from disaster

Safe data, strong future:How to safeguard your organization

and data from disaster

Bill Walter | HFAM LifeSpan Double Header Conference

September 30, 2010

What we’ll cover

• Definitions• Questions before you begin• Recommended minimums for data backup• Backup strategies and options• Testing• Recovery plan

“It is only when they go wrong that machines remind you how powerful they are.”

Clive James

On planning …

Backup and recovery definitions

• Backup– The process of copying data so that any lost or corrupt

data can be recovered• Backup window

– Time slot when the backup can run without interrupting access to the data

• Storage media– Physical storage device that holds the backup data

Backup and recovery definitions

• Recovery window– Amount of time between the failure and recovery when

users cannot access data and applications• Bare metal restore

– Ability to restore data to hardware that is different from the original

• Deduplication (aka “single instance storage”)– Reduce storage requirements by eliminating duplicated

data

Backup and recovery definitions

• Backup types– Full

• Entire system is backed up– Incremental / differential

• Effects only files that changed since last backup

• Open file backup– Software that allows locked files to be backed up

• Server virtualization

Before you start, a few questions

• What do I need to backup?• How often do I need to run the backup?• Who will be responsible for changing the media and

verifying the backup was successful?• What is the size of my backup?

Before you start, a few more questions

• How long can my company be productive without access to this data?

• What do I need to protect my company from?• How do I keep the backup data secure?• What are my compliance issues?

Recommended minimums

• Backup media should be 1.5 to 2 times the size of your current backup data set

• Every two weeks – full backup rotation• Quarterly – restore testing of random data from

current backup• Daily backup kept in fire and waterproof safe

The setup

• Stand-alone server• 4 year old equipment• Email services• Application database

BASIC backup strategy

• Utilize built-in tools– Advantages

• Easy to use• Inexpensive

– Limitations• Not compatible with all backup media• Not database aware

BETTER backup strategy

• Third-party software– Advantages

• Automates complex backup procedures• Database aware

– Limitations• Costs for configuration and maintenance• Must manually move media offsite

BETTER backup strategy part II

• Backup directly to offsite location or service– Advantages

• Automated process• Database aware

– Limitations• Slow backup and recovery• Not suitable to high transaction environment

BEST backup strategy

• Onsite backup to disk with offsite replication– Advantages

• Fast backup and recovery• Small backup window

– Limitations• Initial costs• Recurring fees

Replication strategy

Demo

• Backup• Restore• Virtualization

Testing

• How important is it that your data is available in the event of a failure?

• When do you want to find out there is a problem with the backup media?

Benefits

• Having a backup of your most critical data will allow you to recover in case of emergency

• Having an automated backup strategy reduces errors• Having a disk backup solution provides incredible

speed and reliability• Replicating offsite keeps your data more accessible in

the event of a catastrophic failure• Virtualization provides an extremely fast and flexible

set of options for getting your business operational

Who is Gross Mendelsohn?

• CPA and business consulting firm• Started with traditional audit and tax services and

expanded to:– Technology consulting– Investment / asset management– Personal financial planning– Business valuation– Litigation support / forensic accounting

celebrating 50 yearsin business

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Questions?Bill Walter, MCP, MCSE

wwalter@gma-cpa.com | 410.685.5512 | www.gma-cpa.com

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