Here's how you can ensure successful database backups and disaster recovery as a Database Administrator.

There are many types of native primary database backup options available including full backup, incremental backup and differential backup. Other backup types include synthetic full backups and mirroring. Depending upon the criticality , size, SLAs etc, organization could use multiple options for primary native backups options i.e. 1) Full backup daily OR 2) weekly once full back + incremental daily OR 3) weekly once full backup+ differential backup daily or any other combinations of among each of these options.Testing backups is just as important as data backup.Again, the point of data backup is to enable restoration of data later.Without periodic testing, it is impossible to guarantee that the goal of protecting data is being met.

Something I have found to be a helpful tool, is understanding more than just the desire for a backup, but the risk of not one. The backup estate never makes money, but having a well designed infrastructure within your organization can save you countless dollars. In the moment of disaster recovery, you're not thinking about how much the support contract costs, or how many man hours are spent recovering a database, you're just grateful it was there thanks to the backups. For me a critical database would backup 2 incremental backups a day with a weekly full backup, and smaller db's could do a daily incremental with a weekly full. However testing the viability of data is more important than how frequent you are backing up.

a backup of the database alone is not enough. also verify your archived logs - keep a recent db2look output - keep a backup of your script directory - in hadr do also test takeover and check if standby database is still consistent and has no tablespaces in status other then normal

Regular backups are essential for preventing data loss. Determine the appropriate frequency for full and incremental backups based on the database’s size, transaction volume, and criticality. For most databases, a daily backup is ideal, but highly transactional systems may require more frequent backups. Automating this process with database management tools ensures consistency and reduces human error. Regularly verify backups by restoring them to a test environment to ensure functionality, providing an additional layer of data protection.

Storing backups off-site is crucial for protection against local disasters. Utilizing remote data centers, cloud storage solutions, or even physically transporting backup media to a secure location ensures data safety. The key is geographic diversity; your external storage should be far enough to avoid being impacted by the same disaster affecting your primary site. Balancing accessibility with security is essential, making sure you can quickly retrieve backups when needed while keeping them safe from unauthorized access or damage. This strategy safeguards your data and ensures business continuity under adverse conditions.

Your data is no good if your media is impacted by a natural disaster, and a great way to alleviate that is replication. Sure, cloud storage is a phenomenal solution, but not all estates can afford the high cost of AWS or NetApp. Some estates may require physical media. So replicating from site to site using tools provided by most backup solutions will give you redundant copies, and protect your estate from loss via cyber attack or natural disasters.

In my experience, most data never gets recovered. 10's of 1000's of backups never have a file recovered or a database restored. But, that rare time that it does happen, can you guarantee your restore is going to work properly? This is why period testing on random systems, files, filesystems, or databases is imperative to ensure your security. Pick a small file on occasion, something you haven't modified in months, pick a large file, and pick a dev or UAT database, if possible. The more things you can test to ensure the validity of your data, the better. This will help to find any faults that may be in the backups, albeit infrastructure, media, or within your files. Finding corruption before it impacts you, is the best case scenario.

a DR plan is very important. do document and test your plan. keep also backups of objects that are related to you database: eg. CDC subscriptions.. keep your environment at recent level, because when opening a PMR/case to IBM they always point you to first upgrade your db to the latest level to exclude known problems