Tag Archives: backup procedures

03.23.15
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Develop Backup and Recovery Policy Management to Support GRC

Back up and restore policy management is a critical piece to your GRC (Governance, Risk, Compliance). Policy management encompasses all the rules for where data is stored, how many versions can be stored, and for how long it is stored.

Compliance and Regulation words puzzle piece,business conceptConsider that data is not only to be backed up for protection of a catastrophic event, but, it also needs to be restored for many different purposes and meet varying requirements. This requires  Data Backup strategies must be planned and policies developed to assure all company requirements regarding data retention and recovery are met, such as;

  • Regulatory Requirements
  • Data Breaches
  • Court Orders

Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) provides backup and restore policy management. Policies in TSM are rules that determine how data is stored and managed. The rules include where the data is initially stored, how many backup versions are kept, how long archive copies are kept, and so on. You can have multiple policies and assign the various policies as needed, or even to specific files. Policies Assign a location in server storage where data is initially stored.

Server storage is divided into storage pools that are groups of storage volumes. Server storage can include hard disk, optical, and tape volumes.

Clients use Tivoli Storage Manager to store data for any of the following purposes:

  •  Backup and restore: The backup process copies data from client systems to server storage to ensure against loss of data that is regularly changed. A policy includes the number of versions and the retention time for those versions. The server retains versions of a file according to this policy, and replaces older versions of the file with newer versions.
  • Archive and retrieve: The archive process copies data from client systems to server storage for long-term storage. The process can optionally delete the archived files from the client systems. The server retains archive copies according to the policy for archive retention time. A client can retrieve an archived copy of a file.
  • Backup set recovery: Backup set recovery is the creation of a complete set of backed-up files for a client. The set of files is called a backup set. A backup set is created on the server from the most recently backed-up files that are already stored in server storage for the client. The policy for the backup set consists of the retention time that you choose when you create the backup set. You can copy a backup set onto compatible portable media, which can then be taken directly to the client for rapid recovery without the use of a network and without having to communicate with the Tivoli Storage Manager server.
  • Migration and recall Migration: is a function of the Tivoli Storage Manager for Space Management (for supported UNIX and Linux systems) and Tivoli Storage Manager HSM for Windows programs. It frees client storage space by copying files from client systems to server storage. On the client, the program replaces the original file with a stub file that points to the migrated file in server storage. Files are recalled to the client systems when needed. The process of migrating and retrieving data through these programs is transparent to users and applications, other than a possible degradation in performance as compared to data stored on locally attached, tier one disk. Policy determines when files are considered for automatic migration. On the UNIX or Linux systems that support the Tivoli Storage Manager for Space Management program, policies determine whether files must be backed up to the server before being migrated. Space management is also integrated with backup. If the file to be backed up is already migrated to server storage, the file is backed up from there.

To learn more about data backup and restore policy management, contact Salvus Data Consultants, Tivoli Storage Management experts.

02.24.15
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API’s Are Being Developed to Keep Up With the Expansion of the Internet of Things

When referencing the Internet of Things, it is important to understand that it is really about the data being transmitted, not the devices or the applications. If these devices or applications remained in communication with only their own platform, they would not be part of IoT. These devices must be interacting with traditional applications to be playing a part in the IOT.

To facilitate the expansion of the IOT, APIs are being built at an accelerated pace.network security

In the report from GIGAOM Research called Building an API-driven Ecosystem for the Internet of Things, there are Key findings that include:

  • IoT hardware is not the end game: The profits, margins, and innovations will come from the new products and services built on open, flexible APIs.
  • Technical excellence is not enough. Successful IoT developers must properly onboard, support, monetize, secure, and evolve their platforms in order to compete.
  • Modern APIs enable service composition rather than individual functions, creating an IoT supply chain.
  • Ecosystem architects should build on practices established in mobile-app development for their foundation, customizing only when necessary.

The IT staffs of medium-sized companies will be seeing more requests to integrate the IoT with their mission critical applications. There is a need for the data from these devices and applications to be made available to business applications for increased corporate value. Businesses are integrating specialized devices and applications with core business processes for analytics and advanced business processing. This data has now become corporate data.

The result is more complex data types within the corporate business data environment. This provides an additional burden on the IT staff in understanding the implications of developing backup procedures for these diverse data types.

To discuss this trend in further detail, contact Salvus Data, a data backup and recovery MSP with consultants experienced in backing up complex data types.

11.18.14
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Backup Considerations Grow Within the SMB as the Internet of Things Grows

The IT staffs of medium-sized companies will be seeing more requests to integrate the IoT (Internet of Things) with their missions critical applications.

As stated in the article Internet Of Things: Software platforms will become the rage in 2015, “The growing scope and importance of the data from IoT will force CIOs to integrate the Internet of Things into their Business Technology agenda, with full capabilities for data management, analytics, security, and enterprise application integration.”

Internet of ThingsSo, what is the Internet of Things? First, let’s understand that there is a growing trend in the use of sensors in cars, traffic lights, water meters, and much more. When these devices connect to the Internet to transfer their data to monitoring applications, business applications, or to other devices, this environment becomes the Internet of Things. Other data contributing to the environment is the data from Social Media activity and other applications not in the category of typical core business applications.

It is important to understand that it is the data being transferred over the Internet that makes the Internet of Things (IoT). If these devices or applications remained in communication with only their own platform, they would not be part of IoT.

The trend is that there is a need for the data from these devices and applications to be made available to business applications for increased corporate value. Businesses are integrating these specialized devices and applications with core business processes for analytics and advanced business processing. This data has now become corporate data.

The result is more complex data types within the corporate business data environment. Central backup procedures must be reviewed by IT for proper governance and assurance of data resiliency. This data is now mission critical and must be treated as legacy business data, such as Accounting, Payroll, etc. This provides an additional burden on the IT staff in understanding the implications of developing backup procedures for these diverse data types.

For assistance in reviewing your backup procedure, you can contact Salvus Data, a data backup and recovery MSP specializing in Tivoli Storage Manager.