Data is the heart of any organization. Therefore, it is crucial to protect it at all costs. Any organization thus needs to establish and implement a database backup and recovery plan that will safeguard against accidental loss of important data, hardware failures, database corruption as well as natural disasters. This paper creates a plan for the proper backing of databases.
Initial Planning
Before backing up data, it is essential to consider the following.
- The importance of the data to the organization’s systems
- The type of information that the data contains
- The frequency with which the data is changed
- The urgency with which the data is to be recovered in the event of database loss
- Existing equipment of backing up data
- The administrator in charge of database backup
- The best time of scheduling backups
- The location of the backups
The factors above will determine the best backup plan. For instance, if the data is very essential, then the organization would have to use the most effective tools. A database that is altered frequently will require a system that can also backup these changes easily. In addition to the above factors, it is important to identify the most appropriate type of backup. There are five types of backups.
- Normal backup: This includes backing up all selected files, regardless of the archive attribute. If the file is modified, it will need to be backed up again.
- Copy backup: This includes backing up all files, regardless of the archive attribute. However, unlike normal backups, the attribute is not modified.
- Differential backup: This creates backup copies of data files that have altered since the last usual backup.
- Incremental backup: This creates backup data files that have altered since the most recent backup.
- Daily backup: This backs up databases based on the modification date of the file itself (Microsoft, n.d).
Database Backup System Selection
In selecting the backup system to use, it is imperative to consider the following.
- Capacity: What is the amount of data that you need to back up? Can the backup software or hardware support this load considering time and resource limitations?
- Reliability: How reliable is the system?
- Extensibility: Will this system meet the organization’s needs as it grows?
- Speed: How fast does it take to back up and recover the database using the system?
- Cost: Does the solution fit the budget?
Making the Selection
Presently, there is a wide variety of database backup solutions that an organization can choose. For small organizations that have small data and simple databases, disk drives and removable disks may be sufficient in backing up the data. However, organizations with larger databases may need to purchase commercial database backup software. These include NovaBACKUP, DT Utilities PC Back Up, Acronis True Image, and Macrium Reflect. Commercial database backup hardware includes Actifio Inc. PAS platform, EMC Corp. DD Archiver and ExaGrid Systems Inc. EX13000E. Open-source software such as My SQL and Ms. SQl might also be considered.
Recommendation for Database Recovery
Recovery of a database after a total system failure can be a challenge for any organization. Luckily, there are numerous data recovery software and hardware on the market. However, finding the appropriate methodology to use will depend on how the database was saved. In the event of a total system failure, I recommend that the organization use a salvation program. This system is aimed at restoring the system to its valid state. After it is completed, all databases would have been recovered (Verhofstad, n.d).
References
Microsoft (n.d). Data Backup and Recovery. Retrieved 22 February 2014 from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727010.aspx
Verhofstad, J. (n.d). Recovery Techniques for Database Systems. Retrieved 22 February 2014 from http://infolab.stanford.edu/~manku/quals/summaries/spiller-recovery.htm