BDR Technology: The Evolution from Tape to Volume-Based

Data backup and disaster recovery (BDR) has come a long way over the years, but do managed services providers (MSPs) know the evolution from tape-based backup to today's technology?

Don Bentz from Preferred IT Group spoke to MSPmentor on this very topic to cover any questions our readers may have on this shift in technology.

Bentz said tape-based backup used to be the way to go for years. Various types of software was used to perform these backups, and some were fairly sophisticated while others were simplistic and lacking.

"Sad thing was, most of these backups were never tested," Bentz said. "I don’t have stats on failure, and while we had decent experience with tape restores, there were those that had issues. I’ve known of people that thought they had backups, and over two years later they found out they had not had one backup, ever."

According to Bentz, larger businesses would have it better than small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Larger businesses would be able to afford expensive encryption and robotic devices for rotational control. While SMBs understood the need for off-site storage, tapes were usually carried off-site in a purse, which would increase the risk of damage to the tape.

"Then came removable media, like hard disks, DVD media and other similar types," he said. "Not bad, the storage was a bit more sound however similar backup methods still were used."

Eventually, Internet-based backups started to enter the marketplace, Bentz said, which was a huge improvement from his point of view.

"Encryption, however, now played a huge role and would be a start to an ever increasing requirement. The main issue with early Internet backups was that data pipes weren't that big and it took an entire weekend to push backups offsite."

Volume-based backups finally hit the market and became an instant hit in the market place, Bentz pointed out. Data could be backed up and the the entire structure, security and OS could be restore more easily, instead of taking hours or days with tape backup.

"If a client is lucky to be a part of an MSP offering, their backups are constantly being reviewed for data integrity," he said. "For in-house IT pros, better reporting comes their way easing the pain of backup management."