Guidance on prudent backup procedures [under conversion - duplicate]

KB article ID: 5000 (permalink)

First and foremost, check ALL your backups EVERY DAY.  Failure to confirm your backups risks losing your data. Don't take that gamble. Assign this task to multiple staff to increase the chance that it actually gets done, so that if an error arises it will be found out and can be dealt with it. 

The following pertains to both iSeries/AS400 and PC JIMS Imaging backups.

BASIC BACKUPS

When you first purchase a new iSeries/AS400 or PC JIMS Imaging system through Goodin Associates, we set you up with one (1) tape drive cleaning cartridge and five (5) daily backup tapes (per service). We also give you basic instructions for daily tape rotation and how to check daily that your tape backups are working. We also recommend you run the tape drive cleaning cartridge once a month. Cleaning cartridges are good for 50 uses, after which you'll need to purchase a replacement. We also recommend you always take your most recent successful backup tape to a SECURE off site location.  This point is two-fold: First, if a disaster were to befall your office, you could find yourself without a system and without a backup. And second, each of your backup tapes contains a copy of your data.  Therefore, you should maintain all your tapes in SECURE locations, especially when taking them off site.  

While this approach to basic backups provides a fairly reasonable level of data protection, the advent of newer processes and technologies offer you more options for even greater data security.

ENHANCED BACKUPS (highly recommend)

Reasons to ENHANCE your backup regimen

1. Hardware problems: Forgot to check the success of your daily backups? Suppose you forgot for a week, and didn't realize that there's a problem with your tape drive, which could result in having erased or corrupted every one of your backup tapes. Now suppose your hard drive crashes the same week.

2. Fire, water damage, theft, vandalism: Does the tape you took home last night actually contain a good current backup?

3. Large scale disaster: A tornado could wipe out your courthouse and your off-site tape storage location.

4. Data corruption: A file can get corrupted by user or hardware error. It would help to have access to an older version of a file to compare it to the suspected corrupt file. Consider an instance of internal sabotage, where an authorized user has been deleting data for weeks. It would be helpful to have a monthly or yearly backup to review and compare, from which to restore if needed.

Recommendation One: Beef-up your regimen to include out-of-rotation backups and secure tape storage procedures

If your practice is limited to rotating (5) daily backup tapes, what will you do if you discover corrupt or deleted data two weeks after the fact? We recommend the following:

1. Purchase additional tapes and use them as spares and to take tapes out of regular rotation. 

2. Consider maintaining nine (9) appropriately-sized backup tapes for each of your tape backup schedules (iSeries400 and Imaging):

   1. • • • • 1. One for each weekday (Mon-Fri)

              2. One for weekly rotation

              3. One for monthly/quarterly rotation

              4. One for annual rotation 

              5. One spare

• 1. [Cnv- image]

3. Keep organized by marking tapes and tape cases in a way that facilitates your rotation schedule. Since tapes taken out of rotation will vary, mark your tapes with a number, and tape cases with a name, e.g. with (9) tapes, mark the tapes “1-9,” and the tape cases “Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Weekly, Monthly, Annual, Spare.” 

4. Keep tapes in a case when not in use to avoid confusion, but also to ensure tape longevity and data integrity. Exposure to the environment can be a tape killer. 

5. Designate secure tape-friendly locations to store your tapes. In-house, this location should provide room to maintain your tape organization. Both in-house and off-site locations should provide your tapes protection from exposure to extreme temperatures, like near a window or vent. The locations should also shield tapes from electromagnetic exposure which can radiate from equipment such as the iSeries/AS400, other computers, a microwave and so on. Above all, this location should be secure. 

6. Take/maintain your daily and your monthly/quarterly and annual tapes to a secure off-site location.

7. DO NOT leave tapes taken off-site in your car. THINK SECURITY. This is a COPY OF YOUR DATA.

Recommendation Two: Use the GAL Online Backup Services for your iSeries/AS400 data and for your PC JIMS Imaging image data

These services offer a layer of data protection in addition to your tape backup regimen. They require almost no effort on your part, and are modestly priced. Just contact Goodin Associates, and we'll do the rest.

While these online backups offer great data protection, as well as other advantages, they are not intended as a replacement for tape backups. Tape backups still play a very important role toward disaster preparedness. For instance, while the GAL iSeries/AS400 Online Backup includes versioned backups, the GAL Imaging Online Backup Service behaves differently. Its advantages, such as near-real-time coverage rather than once a day, are accomplished by continuously mirroring your Imaging document files. Deleted documents are not mirrored, so we can help you restore something you accidentally delete. But all other changes, including modification or corruption of a file, will also exist in the backup copy. On such occasions, access to an older copy/backup of your image files, as could be obtained from an out-of-rotation weekly, quarterly or annual backup tape, would be required.

For more information, please contact Goodin Associates, Ltd.  Ask for Kurt Facco.