Analytical use of cookies
Business continuity
Backup and disaster recovery for business
Backup is not complete until restore has been tested. A business continuity plan should define RPO, RTO, copy locations, restore ownership and monitoring.
Define RPO and RTO
RPO defines how much data a company can lose. RTO defines how long recovery may take. These two values decide backup frequency, storage design and restore process.
Use layered copies
A practical model combines local snapshots, separate backup storage and at least one copy protected from the failure of the production environment.
Test restore, not only backup jobs
Successful backup jobs are not enough. Databases, mail, files, web applications and configuration should be restored in a controlled test.
Connect backup with monitoring
Backup should be visible in monitoring and incident response. Missed jobs, expired certificates, DNS errors and storage growth can all affect recovery.
Decision signals
Covered systems
VPS, dedicated servers, cloud servers, mail, databases, files, SaaS and internal business applications
Key concepts
RPO, RTO, snapshots, offsite copy, restore test, retention and disaster recovery plan
Related operations
server administration, monitoring, DDoS protection, SSL, DNS and security updates
Search intent
business backup, disaster recovery, server backup, cloud backup, backup storage
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
Backup is the copy of data. Disaster recovery is the process, responsibility and infrastructure needed to restore service after failure.
Why are RPO and RTO important?
They define acceptable data loss and downtime. Without them backup frequency and restore architecture are guesses.
Should backup be tested?
Yes. Restore tests are the only reliable way to confirm that files, databases, mail and applications can actually be recovered.