Data without an associated backup is only as reliable as the system upon which it is stored — and every system has a finite life span or may be susceptible to malware or hacking efforts. This form from TechRepublic Premium provides a simple method for end users to submit data backup requests.

Backup basics:

There are many ways to make backup copies of data from an enterprise’s cacophony of dedicated storage servers, application servers, desktops and mobile devices. Incremental backup is one of the most popular methods. This type of backup makes full copies of your information at spaced-apart intervals, such as weekly or monthly, while only copying the changes at more frequent intervals, such as daily or even more often for particularly vital systems. Many companies also use snapshot (file system imaging) applications, which take a virtual picture of your data rather than copying the complete bits.

Tiered storage refers to a method of putting backup data in the most suitable location based on its importance. For example, data that’s important yet rarely accessed could go on magnetic tape storage, which is very reliable yet has slow access speed compared to disk or flash.

Data that is less important but still needs to be backed up could go onto older/slower tape, consumer-grade hard disk arrays (vs. enterprise SANs) or perhaps a cloud. Such information could also be stored in a “cold” location that isn’t always connected to your network.

Data that’s urgent may be copied onto a SAN, which in turn backs up to another, or even onto ultra-fast flash storage. This type of urgent data is often replicated across a private network to a remote location because you’ll need it back quickly and reliably if a disaster besets your primary location.

Other modern storage backup technologies include virtual tape, which makes any other type of storage (such as a SAN or a NAS) look like a tape library to an application; deduplication, which optimizes storage by eliminating redundant copies of the same information; data mirroring, which automatically makes two copies of all fresh data (usually stored in different locations) rather than actively having to perform backups; and data compression, which shrinks information for storage purposes and expands it back whenever needed.