{"id":111838,"date":"2024-12-17T07:24:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T15:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=111838"},"modified":"2024-12-17T07:24:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T15:24:48","slug":"disaster-recovery-101-navigating-backup-and-archive-infrastructure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/disaster-recovery-101-navigating-backup-and-archive-infrastructure\/","title":{"rendered":"Disaster Recovery 101: Navigating Backup and Archive Infrastructure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Aging infrastructure, strained budgets, and exponential data growth create unique challenges for disaster recovery (DR) planning. When assessing your backup and archive infrastructure, you\u2019re probably balancing data governance, data sovereignty requirements, compliance requirements, and the needs of your end users. Many legacy data storage systems can create gaps<\/a> in an otherwise airtight DR plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I\u2019m talking through how to approach infrastructure decisions for your cyber resilience<\/a> posture. You have a lot of options. On-premises? Cloud services? Hot? Warm? Cold? What combination works best for your needs? Understanding the nuances can help you sharpen your strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disaster recovery challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1. Relying on on-premises backup and archive infrastructure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, businesses have relied heavily on on-premises backup solutions<\/a>. Robust storage systems hold critical data, often backed up to secondary storage within the same physical location. While this approach offers a sense of control, it also presents vulnerabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On-premises backups are at risk of localized events like loss of power, fire, flooding, or other natural disasters. A geographically separate DR site or other far off-site backup is essential for complete protection and compliance. Without this, the organization risks losing critical data in cases of a regional outage or loss of access. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift to public cloud and SaaS options opened the door to more secure and reliable data backup and disaster recovery solutions. By utilizing cloud-based storage and backup services, organizations can ensure that their data is protected in multiple locations, reducing the risk of data loss due to localized disasters. Additionally, cloud-based solutions offer scalability and flexibility, allowing organizations to easily expand their storage capacity as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Falling into the replication trap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many businesses have established alternate data centers as a secondary backup layer. However, these sites frequently only use replication technology. This situation can result in a scenario known as the \u201creplication trap.\u201d There is a risk that data compromised by malware is replicated to the DR site, leading to potential data loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off-site, immutable backups<\/a>, independent of the primary site\u2019s data, are a key component of a robust DR strategy. In cases of malware attacks or accidental data deletion by users, off-site immutable backups allow for data retrieval from a backup saved prior to the incident and reduce possible interruptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Underestimating LTO limitations<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite being viewed as a legacy technology, tape backups continue to be used in many organizations due to their reliability and cost-effectiveness. It is common to store tapes in a separate location to diversify data storage geographically, which helps reduce the impact of local disasters on data access and enhances overall data resilience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off-site tape backups may increase recoverability but create challenges with recovery time objectives (RTO) because of the increased time it takes to retrieve data from a separate location and restore it using tape technology. Hardware issues can happen often and unexpectedly. Cloud-based data storage and archiving has gained popularity because of higher availability and cost savings over traditional tape backups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost and time required to operate multiple data centers and meet recovery times should also be considered in the requirements for your production and DR infrastructure. Never underestimate the risk to a successful recovery when facing time-consuming tasks like physical site recovery and data restoration from tape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Leaving cloud-based productivity tools vulnerable<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cloud-based collaboration and communication tools like Google Drive and Microsoft 365<\/a> are commonly used by businesses and yet are often left vulnerable to data loss. Cloud services do not provide sufficient protection and recovery options that organizations likely need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses often find that the responsibility for backing up this data falls on their own IT, as these services typically operate under a shared responsibility model<\/a> that doesn\u2019t offer comprehensive backup solutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure a reliable DR plan that includes cloud services, you should: <\/p>\n\n\n\n