Data Backup Best Practices
Your Guide to Secure, Recoverable, and Available Data

Data is one of the most important assets for an organisation. Realising that their data is no longer available could be one of the worst nightmares of IT leaders. Data loss can have devastating effects on the business. Hence a robust backup strategy is crucial for any organisation.

By following these best practices, you can be assured that your data will be safe, completely recoverable, and always available.

General Best Practices

Defined Folders: Ensure backups target specific folders, and new folders are created as subfolders within the designated backup directory.

Clear Policies: Maintain a clear backup policy with a well-defined retention period, including media and storage locations.

Off-Peak Scheduling: Schedule backups during non-peak hours to avoid disrupting business operations.

Separate Infrastructure: Never store backup files on the same infrastructure that is being backed up.

Mock Restorations: Periodically perform mock restorations to verify the authenticity and integrity of backed-up data.

Automated Alerts: Configure automatic ticketing for backup failures based on a robust alerting mechanism.

Key Considerations During Planned Activities
• Perform a fresh, manual Full Backup before any maintenance window.
Snapshot backups are highly recommended for cloud infrastructure.
• Delete temporary backup files seven days after the maintenance activity is complete.
Recommendations from Yotta
Quarterly Policy Review

Thoroughly review backup policies quarterly. Visit account.yotta.com to check settings.

Daily Report Monitoring

Regularly monitor daily backup reports in coordination with your technical contact.

Restore Testing

Conduct restore tests for critical servers monthly, quarterly, and annually.

Adopt the 3-2-1-1 Data Backup Strategy

Implement this proven strategy: maintain three backup copies on two different media, with one copy stored offsite for disaster recovery.

Note: If you are considering tape backups, please contact your Account Manager for more details.
Key Benefits
Secure Data
Easy-to-understand setup.
Optimised Infrastructure
Get the best out of your resources.
Reduced Errors
Minimise human intervention.
Automated Reports
Handy access to backup status.
Easier Management
Simplified capacity planning.
Faster Recovery
Quick access to data in a crisis.