What are the most effective system administration backup strategies?

1 Backup goals and policies

Before you start backing up your system, you need to define your backup goals and policies. These are the guidelines that help determine what, when, where, how, and how often you need to backup your data and configuration. It is important to consider which data and applications are most important and sensitive that need to be backed up. Additionally, consider the recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) for your system; RPOs being the maximum acceptable amount of data loss in case of a disaster, while RTOs being the maximum acceptable amount of downtime for restoring your system. You must also decide on the backup retention periods and frequency, as well as the backup storage locations and media; where and on what devices do you store your backups? Furthermore, think about the backup security and encryption measures to protect from unauthorized access or tampering. Finally, establish backup verification and testing procedures to ensure that your backups are valid and restorable.

2 Backup types and levels

When deciding on a backup plan, it's important to consider the type and level of backup you perform. Full backups are complete copies of your system's data and configuration at a given point in time; they are the simplest and most reliable, but take the longest time, consume the most storage space, and generate the most network traffic. Incremental backups are partial copies of your system's data and configuration that only include changes since the last backup; they are the fastest and most efficient, but require a more complex restoration process. Differential backups are also partial copies of your system's data and configuration that only include changes since the last full backup; they take less time and space than full backups, but more than incremental backups, and require less steps to restore than incremental backups, but more than full backups. You can also combine different backup types and levels to create a scheme that works for your system. For example, you could perform a full backup once a week, and incremental or differential backups daily or hourly.

3 Backup tools and formats

When selecting a backup tool and format, there are several factors to consider. Depending on your system's platform, architecture, and features, the options available can range from Tar, which is a standard Linux tool for creating and extracting compressed archive files containing multiple files and directories, to Windows Backup, which is a built-in Windows tool for backing up files, folders, and system images to local or network locations. Other tools include Dump and Restore, Rsync, Dd, and Bacula. It is important to evaluate the ease of use, performance, reliability, scalability, and cost of the tool and format when making your decision. Additionally, consider whether the tool can preserve system metadata and permissions.

4 Backup automation and scheduling

Backup automation and scheduling is a key best practice for efficient and consistent backups. You can use various tools and methods to automate and schedule your backup tasks, such as Cron for Linux or Windows Task Scheduler for Windows. Many backup tools and formats have built-in features to automate and schedule your backup tasks, and you can also write your own scripts to do so. Automating and scheduling your backups can save time and effort, as well as reduce the risk of human errors or oversights. Nevertheless, it's important to monitor and review your backup tasks periodically, to ensure that they are meeting your backup goals and policies.

5 Backup restoration and recovery

The final factor to consider is the restoration and recovery of your backups. The ultimate purpose of backup is to restore and recover your system's data and configuration in case of a disaster, a human error, a security breach, or a hardware failure. Therefore, you need to have a clear and tested plan for restoring and recovering your backups, as well as the necessary tools and resources. When preparing for backup restoration and recovery, you should identify the scope and impact of the disaster or incident that caused the data loss or corruption. Additionally, select the backup type and level that meets your RPOs and RTOs, and locate and access the backup storage location. Furthermore, use the backup tool and format to restore and recover your data and configuration, then verify and test the restoration and recovery of your data and configuration. Backup restoration and recovery can be a complex process, so it is important to prepare and practice your plan in advance, updating it as needed.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?