| permalink | sidebar | keywords | summary |
|---|---|---|---|
protect-scw/task_define_a_backup_strategy_for_windows_file_systems.html |
sidebar |
Defining a backup strategy before you create your backups provides you with the backups that you require to successfully restore or clone your file systems. Your service-level agreement \(SLA\), recovery time objective (RTO), and recovery point objective (RPO) largely determine your backup strategy. |
Defining a backup strategy before you create your backups provides you with the backups that you require to successfully restore or clone your file systems. Your service-level agreement (SLA), recovery time objective (RTO), and recovery point objective (RPO) largely determine your backup strategy.
An SLA defines the level of service that is expected and addresses many service-related issues, including the availability and performance of the service. RTO is the time by which a business process must be restored after a disruption in service. RPO defines the strategy for the age of the files that must be recovered from backup storage for regular operations to resume after a failure. SLA, RTO, and RPO contribute to the data protection strategy.
Backup frequency is specified in policies; a backup schedule is specified in the resource group configuration. The most critical factor in determining a backup frequency or schedule is the rate of change for the resource and the importance of the data. You might back up a heavily used resource every hour, while you might back up a rarely used resource once a day. Other factors include the importance of the resource to your organization, your Service Level Agreement (SLA), and your Recover Point Objective (RPO).
An SLA defines the level of service expected and addresses many service-related issues, including the availability and performance of service. An RPO defines the strategy for the age of the files that must be recovered from backup storage for regular operations to resume after a failure. The SLA and RPO contribute to the data protection strategy.
Even for a heavily used resource, there is no requirement to run a full backup more than once or twice a day.
Backup schedules have two parts, as follows:
-
Backup frequency
Backup frequency (how often backups are to be performed), called schedule type for some plug-ins, is part of a policy configuration. For example, you might configure the backup frequency as hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly, or you can specify None which makes the policy an on-demand-only policy. You can access policies by clicking Settings > Policies.
-
Backup schedules
Backup schedules (exactly when backups are to be performed) are part of a resource group configuration. For example, if you have a resource group that has a policy configured for weekly backups, you might configure the schedule to back up every Thursday at 10:00 PM. You can access resource group schedules by clicking Resources > Resource Groups.
Factors that determine the number of backups that you need include the size of the Windows file system, the number of volumes used, the rate of change of the file system, and your Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Windows file system backups use the default Snapshot copy naming convention. The default backup naming convention adds a timestamp to Snapshot copy names that helps you identify when the copies were created.
The Snapshot copy uses the following default naming convention: resourcegroupname_hostname_timestamp
You should name your backup resource groups logically, as in the following example:
dts1_mach1x88_03-12-2015_23.17.26
In this example, the syntax elements have the following meanings:
-
dts1is the resource group name. -
mach1x88is the host name. -
03-12-2016_23.17.26is the date and timestamp.
When creating a backup, you can also add a descriptive tag to help identify the backup. In contrast, if you want to use a customized backup naming convention, you need to rename the backup after the backup operation is complete.