Regular backups are important, as the fire at Europe's largest data center in Strasbourg was not the only recent example of. That's why today, on Backup Day, we're taking a look at what to look out for and how we at anny ensure the security of our many customers' data.
But from the beginning, what actually is a backup?
A backup is a backup copy that allows to restore the lost data in case of data loss. Quite practical in case of a total system failure. Backups are essential, because who wants to risk losing important data, like the bookings of their customers? But there are many points to consider when it comes to backups. So when is the right day to deal with it? Exactly: today!
1. type of backup
If you are dealing with the topic of backup for the first time, you will be given the choice between a full backup or an incremental backup quite early on.
With full backup, all data to be backed up is backed up completely each time, so that each backup is independent of the others. This takes up a lot of storage space, but ensures maximum quality of the backup.
With an incremental backup, not all data is backed up completely each time, but only the changes compared to the previous backup. This is based on a successive chain of backups. The advantage: the backups take up less storage space. However, a big problem arises if a link in the backup chain is lost or defective. Data can be lost that was only contained in one of the backups.We at anny always rely on a full backup to have the best possible quality of the backup.
2. backup frequency and storage duration
Even the best backup is of little use if it is not performed regularly. For this reason, it is important to back up your data regularly. What does regular mean? There is no clear answer to this question, because the time interval should be adapted to the data to be backed up. For example, data that only changes weekly does not need to be backed up every hour.In addition to the frequency of the backup, the storage period is also a crucial point in order to restore lost data in the event of an emergency. Often, you only notice later that data has been lost. Backups should therefore be kept long enough.And how does this work in a company like anny? We perform a complete backup of our systems' data every hour. These hourly backups are stored redundantly for at least 30 days - weekly and monthly backups even longer.
3. copies and spatial separation
If we go back to the Strasbourg incident, we quickly see that it is worthwhile:
- Do not necessarily keep backups in the same building or data center as the system being backed up.
- Make multiple copies of a backup and keep them physically separate from each other so that, if the worst comes to the worst, a backup is still available.
Our system is hosted in one of the most modern data centers in Frankfurt am Main. Each of our backups is stored once in Frankfurt am Main (with a different provider) and once again in southern Germany. Thus we have on the one hand a quantitative redundancy given, as well as a geographical separation by the over 100 kilometers distant locations. Thus we can guarantee the best possible data security.
4. encryption of the backups
Ideally, backups contain all the important data needed to restore the system and must therefore be protected in the same way as the actual system. For this reason, it is important that backups are always stored encrypted, because they also contain personal data. For this reason, our backups are encrypted at both locations and stored on hard disks that are encrypted once again, so that the data is really (!) safe.
How we ensure the security of our customers at anny is explained in our Security Policy article.
5. recoverability
The best backup concept is of little use if no data can be restored from the backups. This should therefore be checked regularly to protect against unpleasant surprises. At anny, we regularly check this recoverability both automatically and manually.
Conclusion: Not at all unimportant
We have discovered that backups are a somewhat larger topic than one might think and that there are a few points to consider for a good backup. However, it is all the more important not to sweep this topic under the carpet and to also make regular backups privately in order not to lose valuable memories.
With all the measures we take for backups, we can wait with a clear conscience for the moment when our servers burn down and at the same time hope that it will never happen.
