In today’s digital landscape, businesses rely heavily on the integrity and availability of their data. The backup of your servers is no longer optional; it's essential for business continuity and data protection.
Whether you're running a small business, managing data for a larger organization, or offering managed services, understanding how to effectively back up your (or your customers’) servers can save you from costly downtime and data loss.
In this blog post, we’ll provide five practical tips for your server backup so that you can make an informed decision about how to set up and manage your backup jobs based on your specific needs, industry regulations, and more.
There are two parts to creating a comprehensive server backup that gives you the best chance of recovering your data and systems after a data loss scenario, such as accidental deletion or a ransomware attack: Automate as much of the backup process as possible, and review and adjust it from time to time.
At a high level, this could mean:
When a backup strategy is carefully planned, supported by flexible technology, and properly managed, the only thing separating organizations from returning to business after a data loss event is the time it takes to complete a recovery.
To learn more about building a comprehensive backup and recovery strategy that meets your business needs, read our whitepaper “How to build a better backup strategy.”
A file backup contains all the files and folders that you have selected to be backed up, as well as any recent changes to them. A file backup is also the easiest type of backup to restore from because you only need to access the relevant backup media to restore individual files or folders from it.
File backups are typically stored in a compressed, proprietary format that requires the software that created the backup to restore them. File backups are typically performed with an initial backup of all selected data, followed by a subsequent backup of changes to those files and folders.
For example, NovaBACKUP uses the incremental forever backup scheme, in which each storage medium holds the complete set of files selected for backup, and then sends the changes on file or block level only at the scheduled time.
This flexible approach helps you manage your storage space more efficiently to reduce costs, reduces the time it takes to perform backups, and simplifies restores by allowing you to review different versions of a file and even restore something from several weeks ago (if you have enabled this in the backup's retention settings).
An image-based backup, also known as a disaster recovery, disk image, or system image backup, allows you to create a full disk backup of your entire system (or one or more partitions), including your operating system, applications, and all your data, rather than just your files and folders. These backups are often made periodically in addition to regular file backups.
When you create an image backup, you can quickly restore your entire server exactly as it was, even if the new server utilizes different hardware. This can be very effective in disaster recovery scenarios where your entire system is lost. Some backup solutions even have the ability to store the image as virtual hard disks (VHD/VHD(x)) that can later be mounted as a virtual machine using Hyper-V, reducing the time it takes to access important system information or your data.
When it comes to selecting the best storage device for your server backups, there are a lot of options. One thing to remember is that you don't want to just set up a, say, Network Attached Storage (NAS) and call it a day. A secure and reliable backup solution utilizes multiple backup destinations and storages (more on this in the “Offsite and Cloud Server Backup” section below).
When choosing the best storage medium for your local server backup, you should be able to choose the device that makes the most sense for your environment. For example, if you need to back up a single physical server, a direct-attached hard drive or solid-state drive might make more sense than a high-end NAS. More importantly, whatever you use should be able to scale as your storage needs grow.
Here’s a brief overview of typical local backup storage that can be used for your server backup, along with their advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages: Easy to use with a fast data transfer and high storage capacity while being relatively cost-effective.
Disadvantages: Vulnerable to physical damage (HDDs in particular are prone to damage), and data could be lost in the event of theft.
Advantages: Centralized data storage with options for built-in redundancy.
Disadvantages: High initial purchase cost and requires some technical knowledge for setup and management.
If you’d like to dig deeper into how NAS can be beneficial for your backup strategy, continue with our “Essential Guide to NAS as Backup Storage for SMBs.”
A note on backup appliances: If you choose a backup appliance that comes with backup software, make sure you can easily add other storage destinations, such as cloud storage, to ensure a well-rounded backup strategy.
One of the most common backup guidelines is the 3-2-1 rule. No surprise, since it's easy to remember and usually cited as a great example of a reliable and restorable backup strategy.
The 3-2-1 rule states that every local backup should be accompanied by an offsite backup. Cloud-based storage, in particular, has made it much more convenient and affordable to store data offsite, protecting your data from floods, fires, and other natural disasters as well as cyberattacks.
When deciding whether cloud backup is right for the backup of your servers, consider the following:
So, it really shouldn't be either local backup or cloud backup, it should be both. By regularly backing up to both local and cloud storage, you combine the convenience of fast local access with the redundancy of an offsite copy for disaster recovery purposes.
Backup solutions like NovaBACKUP even allow you to combine local and cloud backups in a single "hybrid backup" job, saving you time and making backup management more efficient.
Want to learn more about cloud backup and its advantages? Read our whitepaper “Leverage Cloud Backup for Maximum Data Protection.”
In addition to setting up multiple backup jobs that store your business-critical data in different locations, it's vital to ensure that no unauthorized entity can access that data. This is especially important with ransomware attacks on the rise.
While a backup solution can't prevent a ransomware attack, a backup can keep your company from going out of business by allowing you to quickly restore encrypted data without paying the ransom. To ensure that you can still access your backups after an attack, consider implementing these additional backup strategies:
In 30% of ransomware attacks where data was encrypted, data was also stolen.
Source: Sophos 2023 Ransomware Report
Choosing the right tool can make or break your data protection strategy. With so many options on the market, how do you select the one that fits your needs?
When looking for backup software for your servers, in addition to the topics mentioned above, here are some key factors to consider:
This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and depending on your business, you may have many more requirements to take into consideration.
At NovaBACKUP, we have been specializing in backup and restore software for a long time and are happy to help you find the best solution for you. Please don't hesitate to contact us for a no-obligation consultation.