Tag Archives: data backup

04.20.15
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Big Data Requires a Big Data Backup and Recovery Strategy

Big data is arriving from multiple sources at a high velocity, volume and variety. To manage big data, you need a strategy for handing this data that includes a data backup and recovery plan.

big data strategyBig data is being generated by everything around us at all times. Every digital process and social media exchange produces it. Systems, sensors and mobile devices transmit it. The Internet of Things (IoT) is generating the demand for a management plan for Big Data. Data is coming from specialized devices and applications and integrating with business applications. Businesses are integrating these specialized devices and applications with their core business processes for analytics and transactional business processing.

Big data must be incorporated in plans for search, development, governance and analytics. To relieve the pressure that big data is placing on your IT infrastructure, you can host some Big Data and analytics solutions on the cloud. Deciding on the correct mix of cloud storage and in-house storage is critical to a successful implementation that is using Big Data. To achieve economies and efficiencies, you can run certain analytics close to the data, while it is in motion. But for data you elect to store in-house, you can use a defensible disposal strategy that reduces the run rate of storage, legal expense and risk.

A data strategy is never complete without a Data Backup and Recovery strategy. A Big Data implementation presents a need for even more focus on the ability to recover from a catastrophic event quickly. However, if an organization is not staffed or tooled to design and execute a Big Data backup strategy of this level of complexity, there are Data Backup/Recovery Managed Service Providers (DB/R MSP) that provide remote management of the Backup process, along with professional Disaster Backup and Recovery consultation. A company should look to a service provider that specializes in complex backup strategies while leaving the IT staff time to manage the daily tactical and long-term strategic activities.

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.

02.09.15
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Recovery Time is a Critical Element of a Financial Institution’s Business Continuity Plan

Data Recovery time is a critical part of meeting the FFIEC IT exam for financial institutions.

The Business Impact Analysis was a section added to the FFIEC (Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council) Business Continuity Planning Booklet in 2008. The Business Continuity Planning Booklet is one of 12 that, in total, comprise the FFIEC IT Examination Handbook.

Banking regulation

 

According to the FFIEC, a business impact analysis (BIA) is the first step in the business continuity planning process and should include the:

  • Assessment and prioritization of all business functions and processes, including their interdependencies, as part of a work flow analysis;
  • Identification of the potential impact of business disruptions resulting from uncontrolled, non-specific events on the institution’s business functions and processes;
  • Identification of the legal and regulatory requirements for the institution’s business functions and processes;
  • Estimation of maximum allowable downtime, as well as the acceptable level of losses, associated with the institution’s business functions and processes; and
  • Estimation of recovery time objectives (RTOs), recovery point objectives (RPOs), and recovery of the critical path

The last two points are of special importance. Being able to recover your data is not the whole issue. Being able to recover your data in a time frame that meets business objectives is critical.

As we have stated in our post Don’t Forget These Things When Data Backup And Recovery Processes Are Being Developed, a major part of the backup and recovery process is the physical network. To name just a few of the factors that impact the infrastructure design would be the frequency of the backups, the required time for the restore to be completed for effectiveness, the medium the data resides, the proximity of the backup location to the original site, etc. Networks may be under-powered to meet data backup and recovery requirements.

Recovery depends on more issues than just recovering from a catastrophic event. Data backup and recovery strategies must also meet company policies regarding regulatory requirements, data breaches, ability to respond to court orders, and more. This requires coordinated strategies and testing. Data Backup strategies must be planned and tested to assure all company requirements regarding data retention and recovery are met.

Outsourcing data backup processes is an approach that can be considered to have expert guidance from Data Backup specialist that know their field. Outsourcing to an American managed service provider is often the preferred choice; especially if the data can remain within the control of the company and only the backup and recovery procedures are performed remotely by the data backup and recovery MSP.

To discuss data backup and recovery processes further, as they apply to regulatory requirements, contact Salvus Data Consultants. Salvus uses Tivoli Storage Management (TSM) remotely to manage Data backup and recovery while you maintain control of your data.