Enterprise Systems Backup and Recovery : A Corporate Insurance Policy (Paperback)

Introduction Who Should Use this Book? Concepts What Is a Backup? Think Insurance Information Lifecycle Protection (ILP) Backups VERSUS Fault Tolerance Risk VERSUS Cost Dispelling myths Myth: Tape Is Going to Die Within a Few Years, and We’ll All Be Backing Up to Cheap Disk Myth: Commercial Backup Software Is Not as “Trustworthy” as Operating System Invoked Tools Myth: Commercial Backup Software Is Not as Efficient as Customized Backup Scripts Written by a Good System Administrator with Local Environment Knowledge Myth: The Use of Commercial Backup Software Would Require Staff Training Myth: Commercial Backup Software Offers No Tangible Improvements over Regular Operating System Backups Myth: Deploying Commercial Backup Software Requires Budgeting for Additional Yearly Maintenance Fees Myth: Backup Is a Waste of Money Myth: It Is Cheaper and More Appropriate to Develop In-House Backup Systems Than to Deploy Commercial Backup Systems Myth: If a Department Can’t Fund Backups for Its Systems, They Don’t Get Backed Up The Top Ten Rules Human and Technical Layers Introduction Human Layers: Roles and Responsibilities Overview Technical Staff Operators Help Desk Staff Backup Administrators System Administrators Application Administrators Management Local Management and Team Leaders Upper Management The Board and the CEO Users Key Users End Users Domain Disputes Technical Layers Introduction Technical Service Layers External and Security Client Systems Processing Systems/Servers Virtualization Systems Storage Systems Backup/Protection Systems Service Component Layers Backup and Recovery Concepts Introduction Host Nomenclature Backup Topology Decentralized Backups Centralized Backups Backup levels Full Level Incremental Level Differential Level Simple Differential Backups Multi-Layered Differential Levels Consolidated Level Manual Backups Skipping Backups Full Once, Incrementals Forever Data Availability Offline Online Snapshot Backups Data Selection Types Inclusive Backups Exclusive Backups Backup Retention Strategies Dependency-Based Retention Simple Model Manual Backups Revisited Recovery Strategies Recovery Types Aggregated Filesystem View Last Filesystem View Point-in-Time Recovery Destructive Recovery Non-Index Recovery Incremental Recovery Recovery Locality Local Recovery Server-Initiated Recovery Directed Recovery Cross-Platform Directed Recovery Client Impact Server-Based Backups Serverless Backups Filesystem/Volume Clones and Snapshots Array Replication Summarizing Serverless Backups Virtual Machine Snapshots Database Backups Cold Backup Hot Backup Export Backup Snapshot Backup Backup Initiation Methods Server Initiated Client Initiated Externally Scheduled Miscellaneous Enterprise Features Pre- and Post-Processing Arbitrary Backup Command Execution Cluster Recognition Client Collections Backup Segregation Granular Backup Control Backup Schedule Overrides Security Duplication and Migration Alerts Command Line Interface Backup Catalogues Media Handling Techniques Spanning Rapid Data Access Multiplexing Media Tracking Backup Introduction What to Back up Servers Storage Devices SAN NAS Non-Traditional Infrastructure Desktops and Laptops Hand-Held Devices Removable Storage: Devices and Media Documentation and Training Introduction Documentation System Configuration System Map Administrative Operations Media Handling Backup and Recovery Operations Disaster Recovery Operations Troubleshooting Acceptance Test Procedures Test Register Vendor-Supplied Documentation Release Notes Training The Case for Training Backup Administrators System Administrators Application and Database Administrators Operations Staff Help Desk Staff End Users Management Performance Options, Analysis, and Tuning Introduction Performance techniques Backup Bandwidth Multiplexing NDMP Backup Efficiency Client-Side Compression Bandwidth Limiting File Consolidation Block-Level Backup Data Deduplication Diagnosing Performance Issues Network Performance Analysis Ping Test Speed and Duplexing File Transfer Test Name Resolution Response Times Client Performance Analysis Hardware Filesystem Software Device Performance Analysis Altering Tape Block Size Can Affect Recovery Backup Server Performance Analysis Improving Backup Performance Multi-Tiered Backup Environments Incrementals Forever, Revisited Upgrade Hardware Tape Robots Example: The Cost of Not Accepting the Need for Autochangers Faster Backup Devices Backup to Disk Disk Backup Units Virtual Tape Libraries Dynamic Device Allocation Serverless Backup NDMP Snapshots Multiplex Larger Filesystems Filesystem Change Journals Archive Policies Archive Is Not HSM Anti-Virus Software Slower Backup Devices Recovery Introduction Designing Backup for Recovery Recovery Performance Facilitation of Recovery How Frequently Are Recoveries Requested? Backup Recency versus Recovery Frequency Who May Want to Perform Recoveries? Recovery Procedures and Recommendations Read the Documentation before Starting a Recovery Choosing the Correct Recovery Location Provide an Estimate of How Long the Recovery Will Take Give Updates during Recoveries Write-Protect Offline Media before Using Don’t Assume a Recovery Can Be Done if It Hasn’t Been Tested Recall All Required Media at the Start of the Recovery Acclimatize Off-Site Recovery Media whenever Possible Run Recoveries from Sessions That Can Be Disconnected From/Reconnected To Know the Post-Recovery Configuration Changes Check Everything Before It Is Done Remember Quantum Physics Be Patient Document the Current Status of the Recovery Note Errors, and What Led to Them Don’t Assume the Recovery Is an Exam If Media/Tape Errors Occur, Retry Elsewhere Ensure the Recovery Is Performed by Those Trained to Do It Read and Follow the Instructions if They’ve Never Been Used Before Write a Post-Recovery Report Update Incorrect Instructions Preserve the Number of Copies of Backups Send Off-Site Media Back Off Site Remind Vendors of SLAs Cars Have Bandwidth, Too Disaster recovery Maintenance Backups Perform a Backup before Maintenance Perform a Full Backup Following Maintenance If Time Permits, Backup after Recovery Avoid Upgrades Read the Documentation before the Backups Are Performed Disaster Recoveries Must Be Run by Administrators Test and Test and Test Again Use the Same Hardware Know Dependencies (and How to Work around Them) Keep Accurate System Documentation Do You Know Where Your Licenses Are at 1 A.M.? Disaster Recovery Exercises Off-Site Storage Keep the Disaster Recovery Site Current Hot or Cold Disaster Recovery Site? Service Level Agreements Recovery Time Objective SLAs Recovery Point Objective SLAs Planning SLAs Map IT Systems Establish SLAs on a Per-System Basis Confirm SLAs Are Realistic Upgrade IT Environment or Revisit SLAs Failure Costs Formally Agree to, and Publish SLAs Enact Policies to Protect SLAs Verify SLAs Testing ?Protecting the Backup Environment Introduction Why Protect the Backup Server? Protecting the Backups Via Backup Software Post-Backup Cloning Inline Cloning Storage of Duplicates Hardware-Level Protection Hot-Pluggable Tape Libraries RAIT RAID for Disk Backup Physical Protection Physical Security Protecting the Backup Server Backup Server Components Ensuring Availability Historical Considerations Migration Maintenance Archives Problem Analysis Introduction Network Basic Configuration Switch/NIC Settings Hostname Resolution Basic Connectivity Ping Test Port Test Backup Software Connectivity Hardware Validation Backup Device Validation Physical Inspection Operability Validation Media Validation Firmware Validation System Hardware Validation Server/Storage Node Client Software Validation Log Review Version Compatibility Validation Error Review Tracking Failures Backup Reporting Introduction Reporting Options Automated Reports Automated Report Parsing Zero-Failure Policy Choosing a Backup Product Introduction Coverage Value Products That Value Protection Value Frameworks, Not Monoliths Operating Systems Databases Applications Clustering Hardware Functionality Checklist Administrative Considerations Training Support Maintenance Technical Support Best Practices Introduction Backup to Recover Documentation What to Backup Protect the Backups Results Checking and Reporting Core Design Considerations Track Failures Clearly Delineate Roles and Responsibilities Network, Not Netwon’t Ensure the System Is Supported Appendix A: Technical Asides A Introduction A Transactional Logging A Snapshots A Traditional Snapshots A Fast Resynchronization Snapshots A Copy-On-Write Snapshots A Cache Snapshots A Apply-Deferred Snapshots Appendix B: Sample Recovery Request Form Appendix C: Sample Test Form Appendix D: Glossary of Terms