| The most important task of any system | | | | Both strategies can, and probably should, be |
| administrator is backing up the systems they are | | | | combined. An archival-only strategy requires the |
| responsible for. Not putting the system up, not | | | | system administrators to reinstall and reconfigure |
| keeping it running, backing it up and being able to | | | | the operating system prior to restoring the data; |
| restore is primary. | | | | this takes longer and is more error prone. |
| A system with no backup cannot be relied upon | | | | Any backup strategy must be tested. |
| for any real purpose, because if anything goes | | | | A DR backup is tested by restoring a system |
| wrong your data is gone. | | | | backup onto a fresh system to make sure you |
| Something always goes wrong eventually, and | | | | can recover from an emergency. |
| without good backups all of your work, and | | | | Archival strategies are tested by retrieving files |
| possible your entire business is just plain gone. | | | | and verifying that you can find the files you need |
| A good backup strategy is composed of backup, | | | | and that they are readable once restored. An |
| storage, verification, and restoration. The backup | | | | untested backup strategy is usually a complete |
| component covers selection of method and which | | | | waste of time and money. |
| data to backup (all of it by choice). | | | | For web hosting clients, you will usually do your |
| Storage covers both what media you back up | | | | backups with the cPanel administrative |
| onto as well as where you keep them (if your | | | | interface.cPanel will let you backup your entire |
| building burns down, tapes kept in the server | | | | hosted site, your databases, or your home |
| room will be useless). | | | | directory (which will contain your website but not |
| Verification is a crucial component of a backup | | | | the data behind it). |
| strategy, you have to know you have usable | | | | To perform a backup you simply access the |
| data. | | | | Backup control panel and select a type of backup. |
| Lastly, you need to be able to get the data back | | | | The system performs the backup and downloads |
| to where it can be used. | | | | the file to your local system. |
| There are two main strategies for backups: | | | | These backups can be restored through the |
| Disaster Recovery and Archival. | | | | same interface. |
| DR backups are designed to restore a system to | | | | To test, you would create a new hosted site and |
| a working state. To do this you backup the entire | | | | restore your backups to it. |
| system so that you can restore it onto another | | | | The downloaded backup files are important |
| machine to get a working system. | | | | (possibly confidential) data and should be |
| An archival strategy is concerned with retrieving | | | | integrated into your local backup strategy. |
| historical data ('give me the customer database as | | | | At the least, burn them to disks if you can't |
| it appeared at the end of last year') and not with | | | | arrange to include them in your main backups. |
| restoring a working system. | | | | |