Backups, and Recovery Time and Point Objectives

It has become a widely accepted fact that an increasing number of organizations have to manage and protect massive amounts of data on a daily basis. The amount of data stored in the Auxiliary System Pool is increasing at alarming rates, while the backup windows either stay the same or get smaller. The most common approach to protecting that data daily is through tape-based backup solutions. It is also a fact that, while most IT departments are comfortable with the success rate of their tape-based backups, most know they probably could not restore from those tapes within the business’s Recovery Time Objective (RTO). Is this because of wishful thinking that nothing will go wrong, lack of funding, or trying to recover too much data outside of the disaster recovery scope?

You must first determine just what it is you are trying to protect and the level of protection you are trying to achieve. You need to align the recovery objectives with each server to determine the type of backup solution required to support the business RTO. This can include a host of data-protection strategies, involving tape, electronic vaulting, continuous data protection, and high systems availability. Even though the BIA phase is completed, you need to meet with the owners of the server application data to confirm two important factors for each and every system.