Backup and Disaster Recovery Systems Products and Solutions by Advanced Service Solutions

We provide and consult on Backup and Disaster Recovery Systems and Solutions because they are a critical part of business.  Systems have failures, employees make mistakes, the inexplicable does happen and in order for your buisness to be able to move forward after these occurances... an effective and reliable Backup Solution and a Disaster Recovery Solution NEED to be in place in your organization.  The biggest problem that people face when implementing these solutions, is that buying or renting the software and/or hardware to accomplish these task is only the beginning.  With much too great of a frequency, we are called in when a problem occurs and the first words that we hear are "We bought a good system, but it did not work".   The Software and Hardware usually work just fine when tested, but the lack of planning, establishing processes and procedures, testing and verification during the implementation clearly shows and is the cause of the failure.

We should start by identifying several key terms and what they mean.  1).  "Backups" is the copying of data in order to safeguard and allow for data recovery.  Backups are normally transient and not permanently stored  2).  "Archiving" is the permanent storage of copies of data for emergency purposes and alleviate long term potential liability.  3).  "Disaster Recovery" is a type of backup (usually referred to as an "Image") that is capable of providing rapid restoration of operating systems, applications, services and data when hardware failure or corruption occurs on a system.  

"Backups" are normally based on a "321" concept with there always being a minimum of three (3) copies of all data at all times, with a minimum of two (2) of those copies being in different file formats on seperate and independent systems, and at least one (1) of those being in a seperate and geographically diverse location.  Further, the "321" concept is then normally suplenmented by the "Grandfather, Father, Son" process whereby multiple versions of the data is retained for pre-decided periods of time.  So an example might be having a weeks worth of backups at any given time based on the assumption that Backups are performed once nightly under this plan.  Therefore, you would have seven (7) generations of backups with each being stored in the "321" methodology.  This would allow for going back for up to a week to recovery a particular file which is lost or corrupted.   The number of generatons of the process is a business decision whereby Management should determine how far back they need to be able to go at any given time.  After the pre-determined number of generations has been exceeded, the first copy is then over-written and so on an so forth.

"Archiving" is also normally based on a "321" concept with there always being a minimum of three (3) copies of all data at all times, with a minimum of two (2) of those copies being in different file formats on seperate and independent systems, and at least one (1) of those being in a seperate and geographically diverse location.  Unlike Backups which are then tracked on a number of generations pre-determined to exist and then overwritten, Archives are considered to be relatively permanent copies which are never deleted unless all legal liabilities have been mitigated and all data has aged to the point of no longer being valid or useful.  An example might be, assuming that Archiving is performed once quarterly under this plan... that you could retain approximately Thirty (30) Archives which would exceed seven (7) years of records and assuming that your legal retention period is based on a seven (7) year liability, you would then be allowed to delete the last Archive each quarter as you move forward. 

"Disaster Recovery" is indicative of the ability to take a working "image" of an entire server or workstation which has the capability to be restored to the system allowing it to immediately begin functioning again as of the point the image was captured.  Its primary purpose is to facilitate a supposed rapid recovery of server or clients when extended down time without their functionaility would be detremental to the operations of the business. 

The biggest point from all of the above, is that even with the extensive type of planning referenced above that it is still possible to lose data.  In order to make data loss impossible, the magnitude of the storage and backup solutions would be massive and onurous to utilize.  Office procedures therefore still play an extended role in the ability to recover from failures.  When a restore point is initiated, it is the responsibility of the employees to have a record of what transactions or data have been created or entered from the point of that original image being taken until the point of the recovery.  Proper Backup and Disaster Recovery is a team effort and there is no single method of tracking and having a complete record of every change of every minute of business operation. 

Understanding what your potential loss is and having procedures in place to know how to recover is paramount in order to have an effective Backup and Disaster Recovery implementation.  Even more paramount, is the testing and verification that the systems work, that your employees understand their roles in it and that you have the full understanding and ability to execute the restoration plan.

Advanced Service Solutions has been working with Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions and Consulting since 1996 and some of our staff have been in the industry since 1980.  We strongly recommend Backup and Disaster Recovery Solutions to our clients and have helped them choose, understand, implement, use and support their products and services for decades.  We can help you choose the best solution for you and help you analyse the benefits and cost of each.

Call today for more information and a free initial consultation.
Contact our Backup and Disaster Recovery Specialist at:  +1 (561) 432-1404