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Data Recovery
Filed plans for Data Recovery.
Data Recovery
Why Your Backups Are Not Data Recovery: Test the Restore
StrategyLayered backups combining full, incremental, and differential copies, with periodic image or snapshot captures and versioned retention.
RetentionKeep multiple restore points: daily copies for a few weeks, weekly copies for a few months, and monthly copies for a year or longer where regulation or value justifies it.
RestoreVaries by data volume and method: minutes for small file restores, hours for application or database recovery, and longer for full system rebuilds.
OffsiteAt least one copy must be stored in a separate physical or geographic location, isolated from the primary environment.
A backup is a copy. Data recovery is the process of turning that copy back into usable data, applications, and services. The gap between the two is where most organizations get surprised. A backup job that reports success only proves that data was written somewhere. It does not prove that the data can be read, that the application can start, that dependencies are present, or that the restore will finish inside the time the business can tolerate.
Data Recovery
Snapshots vs. Backups: Why Your Recovery Plan Is Probably Broken
StrategyUse snapshots as short-term point-in-time rollback for local operational recovery, and independent full or incremental backups copied to separate storage for durable recovery; apply the 3-2-1 rule so at least three copies exist on two media types with one offsite.
RetentionSnapshots: hours to a few days, limited by primary storage capacity and change rate. Backups: daily to weekly operational copies for weeks to months, plus monthly or quarterly archives retained for months to years according to business, legal, and compliance needs.
RestoreSnapshots: seconds to minutes for a local rollback. Backups: minutes to hours for small data sets; hours to days for large systems, depending on data volume, bandwidth, media, and whether a full restore or granular file recovery is required.
OffsiteRequired for backups; at least one copy must be stored in a separate location or trust domain, isolated from the primary site and its credentials, with periodic verification that the offsite copy is readable and restorable.
Snapshots and backups are often treated as interchangeable safety nets, but they answer different questions.
Data Recovery
Stop Treating Snapshots Like Backups: Set Real RPO and RTO
StrategySnapshot plus independent backup copies: frequent local snapshots for fast rollback, paired with full and incremental backups written to separate storage and media so a lost array or corrupted snapshot chain does not destroy the only copy.
RetentionShort snapshot retention measured in hours to days, with backup retention tiered from daily copies for weeks to monthly or quarterly copies for months or years depending on compliance and recovery needs.
RestoreSnapshot rollback in minutes for small in-place recoveries; full backup restores typically range from under an hour for small data sets to many hours or days for large ones, bounded by data volume, bandwidth, and media speed.
OffsiteAt least one copy must reside in a separate location or failure domain, either a second site or an isolated cloud or object store, with periodic verification that it is readable and restorable.
Snapshots are convenient, fast, and easy to schedule, which is exactly why so many teams quietly let them become the only copy of important data.
Data Recovery
Snapshots vs. Tape: Which Backup Recovers Best?
StrategySnapshots are point-in-time copies kept on or near the primary storage array, often scheduled hourly or daily; tape is a sequential offline medium written by a backup server, usually with a rotating schedule of full and incremental jobs.
RetentionSnapshots are commonly retained for hours to a few weeks because they consume primary storage; tape cartridges are retained for months to years and are the usual medium for long-term archival retention.
RestoreSnapshot restores are typically minutes because data stays on disk; tape restores range from tens of minutes to many hours or days depending on tape location, cartridge load, and whether a full or incremental set must be replayed.
OffsiteSnapshots alone are not offsite unless replicated to a second site or cloud; tape provides offsite protection when cartridges are transported to a secure remote vault or alternate facility.
Snapshots and tape are often presented as competing answers to the same question, but they solve different problems.
Data Recovery
Snapshots Aren't Backups: Real Data Recovery Needs Testing
StrategyIndependent, versioned backup copies kept separate from the storage system that hosts snapshots, following the 3-2-1 rule with at least one immutable or offline copy.
RetentionKeep daily restore points for at least 30 days, weekly copies for 3 to 12 months, and monthly or annual archives for as long as business, legal, or compliance needs require.
RestoreFrom minutes for a single file restored from a local copy to several hours for a full application or server rebuild from offsite media; the achievable time depends on testing and must be measured, not assumed.
OffsiteAt least one copy must live in a separate location or trust boundary, such as another region, another provider, or encrypted removable media stored away from the primary site.
A snapshot is a point-in-time view of a storage volume, usually created in seconds and kept on the same system as the data it describes.
Data Recovery
When Your Snapshot Is Not a Backup: A Data Recovery Reality Check
StrategyIndependent backup copies separate from snapshots, using full plus incremental or differential backups, with immutable or offline copies and periodic restore testing.
RetentionKeep daily backups for 30 days, weekly backups for 12 weeks, monthly backups for 12 months, and at least one annual copy for 3 years, adjusted to business and legal needs.
RestoreTypical restore time ranges from 30 minutes for a single file to 4-24 hours for a full server or application, depending on data size, bandwidth, and recovery method.
OffsiteAt least one copy must be stored offsite or in a separate cloud region or account, isolated from the primary environment and not reachable with production credentials.
Snapshots are often described as backups, but they are not the same thing.