In the field of information technology, a backup is a security measure that refers to the copying of data, so that in the event of a data loss catastrophe, a duplicate of the information is always available.
Today, most organisations are aware of the need to protect their most important asset – their data. Offsite backups offer a secure, simple and affordable alternative to the traditional tape backup solution. A smart company will store its backup data at a remote location, server or network – after all, what’s the point of keeping a backup in a different part of your office if your entire office burns down?
A remote or online backup service provides users with a safe solution to their data backup needs. Managed backup providers are companies that have the server space to store an organisation’s backups, and the requisite digital security to protect the data.
There are many companies that provide online storage solutions that allow you to store data without the need for anything but an internet connection. A key advantage of this is that you can access your backup data remotely at any time.
Three Tier Backup
Many companies have a three tier system for storing their data.
- Stage 1 (Primary Tier) – data is stored on the local device (the computer’s hard drive on which the data was created or on the computer’s network server).
- Stage 2 (Backup Tier) – data is backed up and stored locally.
- Stage 3 (Recovery Tier) – data is backed up at an offsite/online location.
Often, these storage locations are interconnected by leased lines.
Many companies are looking beyond the concept of simple backup and retrieval of data, by implementing real-time offsite backup using the latest snapshot and replication/mirroring techniques.
Snapshot or mirroring creates a replica of all the data. Every byte of data is concurrently replicated in a physical or logical device in the same format using Server Message Block technology. Since the backup data is copied in real time, and sent to the offsite/online location immediately, there will be no loss of data in the event of a data loss situation at work.
The three tier system of data storage is universally accepted as the most full proof system by organizations that are serious about preserving their critical data. The multi-tier system enables complete data management and allows the administrator to restore data with ease in case of any data requirement exigencies.