Services
Backup and data recovery
A backup is a copy you have restored. A copy that has never been brought back is an intention. We start from what you cannot afford to lose, how far back you may need to go, and how quickly the office has to work again. Then we design the copies, and we test them.
A design, not a slogan
A workable arrangement usually means more than one copy, kept in more than one way, with at least one copy that is not in the same office and not behind the same password as the mail. People call that idea 3-2-1. The name matters less than the restore test, and less than a written note of what is covered and what is not.
The location of the copies, and who can reach them, is agreed per client. We will not leave the only copy on the machine that holds the live files.
The restore test
The agreement should say how often a restore is tried, and what counts as success for you: a folder, a mailbox, a line-of-business database, a whole machine. A green tick in a console is not the same thing as a file you can open.
Limits
We cannot recover what was never copied, or a system we were not asked to cover. Some failed drives can be read. Some cannot. Some need a specialist laboratory. We will say which, before a laboratory is involved, and we will agree the chain of custody before a data-bearing drive leaves your premises.
If the reason for the recovery is a suspected intrusion, preservation comes before tidying. That path is described under cyber security.
Related
Questions
- How do we know a backup works?
By restoring from it. A copy that has never been restored is an intention, not a backup. The agreement should say how often a restore is tested, and what a successful test means for you.
- Can you recover any file?
No. We can work from copies that exist, or from a device that still holds the data. Some failures are recoverable, some are not, and some need a specialist laboratory. We will say which before any laboratory is involved.
- Where are the copies kept?
That is agreed for each client. We will not leave the only copy on the same machine, or behind the same login, as the live files. The location and who can reach it are written down.