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Top 10 Things You Want in Your Backup Contract (Part 7)
Our seventh point, “Backup Schedule,” covers what data you will be backing up and when. This is important in order to meet any recovery time objective (RTO), recovery point objective (RPO) and the recovery service level (RSL) requirements you may have defined. Disclaimer: Take these as basic starting templates and get local legal advice, as local jurisdictions may require specific changes.
December 11, 2012
3 Min Read
By Zenith Infotech 1
Our seventh point, “Backup Schedule,” covers what data you will be backing up and when. This is important to meet any recovery time objective (RTO), recovery point objective (RPO) and the recovery service level (RSL) requirements you may have defined.
Disclaimer: Take these as basic starting templates and get local legal advice, as local jurisdictions may require specific changes.
Backup is just backup, right? Well, unfortunately not all backup systems are created equal, and you need to properly define the following aspects of your backup solution:
How often you back up their data: This sets the initial expectation of your RPO. If your system can back up as often as every 15 minutes, make sure you have a clause that defines that this is dependent upon the server’s ability to be backed up that often. I have seen cases where the server was very over taxed and could only be backed up once a day, even though the agent allowed a 15-minute solution.
How often you get the data off site: Even though your solution takes the “offsite” copy as of midnight, the actual data may not get off site until a day or so later. Define your offsite restore based upon the files your remote system has received. (See my second blog on automatic off-siting of data).
Define what your backup solution might skip: This might seem weird, but if your backup solution is file-based and is only allowed to back up certain files based upon the backup agent’s administration rights, if someone comes along and changes those rights (the over-zealous security administrator, for example), it could change what you are backing up instantly.
Beware the anti-virus: So, what has anti-virus got to do with anything? Well, most backup agents look like viruses, so you will want to define that any anti-virus software applied to the server or workstation should exclude your backup agent files and temp directories from any scan.
Define administrative stoppages: This section simply states that you are not responsible for backing up their servers if your backup process is in any way tampered with or paused.
Bottom Line: Cover the weaknesses in your backup solution to prevent misunderstandings of your restore capabilities. Next week, we will talk about backup types and their impact.
If you are interested in finding more about Zenith’s TigerCloud with built-in business continuity, click HERE.
Rich Reiffer
Rich Reiffer is VP of Cloud Practice at Zenith Infotech. Rich has been in the business of technology since the dark ages starting with Burroughs Corp., spending time with Steve Jobs (NeXT) and Ray Noorda (Novell). Rich has been in the VAR channel since the mid 80's with companies like Inacomp and Businessland finally forming his own company, Trivalent, in 1991. After 20 years of building data centers, etc. Rich has come on board with Zenith to head up the Cloud group. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of Talkin' Cloud's annual platinum sponsorship.You May Also Like
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