POWER POINT PRESENTATION

Backups and Disaster Planning

Sai Rohith Cherukumilli

Wilmington University

Backups and Disaster Planning

Introduction

In this age of computer-dependency, data protection is a priority for most businesses and only few, if any can a total system failure. It is therefore very critical for any business that is system controlled to have a database back up to prevent loss of the primary versions of data or the systems that manage that data. This paper endeavors to elaborate the concept of data backup and disaster recovery and also the importance of the integration of both. Moreover, this paper will also look into the possible impact of database back up and disaster recovery if they are not effectively integrated.

Backup

Data backup is the coping of data to a secondary site to ensure the preservation of data in case of a disaster. Data loss can occur as a result of computer viruses, hardware failures or even theft. In this electronic age, data is very valuable. In a business, data loss may involve loss of critical financial information, customer information and even company data. On the other hand, it is possible to lose data on a personal computer which may include personal information, pictures and even music. Data lost without a backup is very hard to replace. A backup is therefore used to reconstruct the original database in case it is lost. Moreover, apart from the main function of data preservation, a database backup can also be used to improve the system efficiency (Sorenson & Ritchie, 2014).

Data backup involves the replication of one or more important data in the original database. It is a complicated process that determines what data to back up, the method of compression to use, and how often to even run the backups. Back up process also involves determining what kind of media is to be stored in the back ups and also the place to store the backup data for safe keeping. The above processes need to be done before the data is sent to the storage place to ensure optimal working of the backup system (Pokorny, 2013).

Generally, in choosing the type of data to backup, one should choose any work or data that cannot be easily replaced which may include emails, word processing documents, databases for financial data, customer data, emails, music and even pictures. However, one key rule is not to back up system folders or programs since programs need to be installed before been run and system folders can easily be restored from the operating system installation disc.

Moreover, there are two types of data backups are the logical backup and the physical backup. Logical backups function as supplements to physical backups and they comprise logical data i.e. stored tables and procedures. Comparatively, a physical back up holds physical data from primary databases such as data files, control files or redo files that have been archived, obtained from some recovery manager. All physical data backups are copies of files storing information to some other location either on a disc or some other offline location. Physical backups form the foundation of a robust recovery system while logical backups only serve as a supplement but not a proper protection against data loss.

Consistency is also a major facet of backups and based on this criterion, there are consistent and inconsistent backups. In consistent databases also called cold backup, data files are stored with all the changes in the database at a specific time in place. However, in an inconsistent database, there has to be an abnormal shut down for data files to be made or either the database file has to be open. While backup is being performed in an inconsistent database, it is possible for the database to undergo some changes. It is worth pointing out that if the database runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week the only option available is to perform an inconsistent back up for the entire database (Shaw & Batch, 2010).

Disaster planning

Disaster recovery entails the procedures and policies established by an organization to ensure that it continues to function in the event of human related or natural disaster to the information systems and technological establishment of an organization. Disaster recovery plan is intended to restore all the critical processes within a convenient time frame using the laid down strategies (Snedaker, 2013).

Disaster recovery planning is a companion of the business resumption plan. The business resumption plan has two facets which include the recovery plan for the technological infrastructure of the business and the business recovery plan that addresses other issues surrounding the business operation. The IT recovery plan therefore consists of processes such as continuation of data, application of communication, networking infrastructure and hardware. The IT recovery plan is part of the bigger emergency plan to help businesses overcome threats and guarantee continuity.

Developing an IT technical disaster recovery process incorporates a number of processes that includes six steps. First, the business needs to conduct a business contingency plan and identify the top priorities for the business and secondly, the business needs to do a risk analysis. Thirdly, the business needs to perform an impact analysis followed by the fourth step of developing a businesses recovery and continuity strategy. After developing the strategy, the business needs to develop a sound IT continuity plan, create awareness about the plan and also engage in testing and training. Finally, the business the business needs to perform a regular maintenance on the disaster recovery plan (Smith, 2012).

Generally, the controls for disaster recovery can be grouped in to three categories. First, there are the preventive controls that ensure that the crisis does not materialize and secondly, there are detective controls that notice the undesirable event. Thirdly, there are corrective controls that serve to restore the system to its normal state after the crisis has happened. It is worth pointing out that a good disaster recovery plan must embody all of the three elements and a regular checkup to ensure that all the elements are intact is important to ensure that the recovery plan is robust.

The business recovery plan contains several business processes that are critical for business to run and also includes the recovery point objectives. The plan also has parameters to evaluate the fulfillment of the objectives set out. These parameters are also applied to the IT rescue strategy for the business. Ordinarily, businesses perform a cost benefit analysis of the different IT recovery plans to establish the most effective one. A business can opt to avoid minimum loss of time and money but invest more in the protection management elements of its IT infrastructure. Some IT disaster recovery strategy include: Back up on magnetic tapes and other cost effective devices, use of UPS and backup generators or even copying data via private cloud. Also backing data to on-site and offsite disks, disk protection strategies, and the use of surge protectors are effective strategies for disaster recovery planning.

In the process to determine business priorities there are four classes of the businesses systems. First, there are the mission-critical systems, which are paramount to achieving the mission of the business and can only be performed by computers. An alternative for manual compatibility hardly exists and this system has to be restored within 36 hours. Secondly, there are the critical systems which are important in achieving the mission of the organization and although they are primarily done by computers they can be performed manually, though for a short time. The timeline for the restoration of the critical business systems is between 36 hours to 5 days. Thirdly, there is the essential systems which even though performed by computers, they can be performed manually for an extended period of time. The timeline for the restoration of essential systems is 5 days or longer. Lastly, there are the non-critical systems which are not very essential to achieving the mission of the business. These tasks can be performed manually and can be delayed until the damaged system is restored (Phillips, 2015).

Integration of database back up and Disaster recovery

The crux of database back up is to preserve data in case it is destroyed. On the other hand, the objective of disaster recovery is to ensure that is to achieve the continuity of the business by seeing that operations are not interrupted. It is worth pointing out that, both concepts can be complementary to each other in the event that the two are not effectively executed since they overlap extensively i.e. database back up can be used to determine which data to copy whereas the disaster recovery plan can provide insights as to the location of the database backup. Therefore, because of the overlapping nature of the two processes, and also considering that the effectiveness of the disaster recovery plan depends on the how efficiency of the database back up, the business has a whole complete package for keeping data safe.

Lack of proper preparation that mainly arises from a poor disaster recovery plan or a faulty back up might result to a lot of losses or even bring the business to its knees. The consequence of not having a backup is that data is lost completely in case of disaster while the impact of not having a disaster recovery program is that the business is crumbled down by a crisis. Therefore, failure by a business to implement efficient disaster recovery mechanisms and have a database that is intact can make it hard for a business to survive a crisis (Beggan, 2011).

Conclusion

Data back up and disaster recovery converge when the business experiences a crisis. Therefore, for the business to survive the crises, both systems have to be robust to ensure the continuity of the business operations. Both data back up and disaster recovery are complimentary meaning that the success of one of them depends on the efficiency of the other. Therefore, it is prudent to ensure that both systems run efficiently to prevent losses or even going out of business.

References

Beggan, D. M. (2011). Disaster recovery considerations for academic institutions. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal,20(4), 413-422.

Phillips, B. D. (2015). Disaster recovery. CRC press.

Pokorny, J. (2013). NoSQL databases: a step to database scalability in web environment. International

Shaw, S., & Bach, M. (2010). Introduction. In Pro Oracle Database 11g RAC on Linux (pp. 1-25). Apress

Smith, G. (2012). Planning for post-disaster recovery: A review of the United States disaster assistance framework. Island Press.

Snedaker, S. (2013). Business continuity and disaster recovery planning for IT professionals. Newnes.

Sorenson, E. L., & Ritchie, R. V. (2013). U.S. Patent Application No. 13/873,451.

Journal of Web Information Systems, 9(1), 69-82.