This is the second in a series of discussions on Backups, Disaster Recovery and Security.
This time we will focus on RDA Data Backups. As we learned last time, when one “backs up”(v) their data it creates a “backup”(n) of their data.
From wikipedia – In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
The RDA data backup process creates a copy of the current RDA data on your cloud server. Each night, RDA’s process automagically gathers all (thousands) of data files on your server and compresses them into a single file, a data backup file. After the data backup file is created, it is moved across the internet to a data server located in a secure data center on the US west coast. Confirmation is provided upon successful completion of the process.
A multi-day backup rotation scheme is used. Multiple backups are always stored at the secure data center. Each backup that is loaded nightly on the remote data server, replaces the oldest backup on that server. In addition, a backup for each month is retained.
The purpose of an RDA backup is to mitigate the risk of a data loss event. A backup can be used to recover data after its loss from data deletion or corruption, or to recover data from an earlier time. Some consider the backup a very simple form of disaster and security breach recovery.
What is not included in the RDA data backup is your cloud server and its operating system files and configurations. Without a server and system files and configurations, RDA software can not function. In addition, a RDA data backup file restore time is not guaranteed. These are important points as you consider disaster and security breach risks. More on this in a future installment.
In short, for the majority of our clients, RDA backs up your data every night and stores the data backup file in a secure data center on the west coast. When needed, a data backup file can be manually restored to your existing cloud server.
If you would like more information on your existing RDA Data Back Up Plan, please contact Mimi English (mvenglish@rdasys.com).
Our next installment in this discussion will be an overview of Disaster Recovery and RDA.
