Myths and facts about backup, restore and disaster recovery

Myths myth facts fact

With the rise of digital data, changing technology, and common usage of personal devices, the IT world has become ever more complex with new challenges around every corner. In the wake of such quick changes and complexity, many individuals end up exaggerating the difficulties found within these new systems and thereby begin spreading some major falsehoods within this vast IT sphere.

Even though the influx of information and discovery has given way to the creation of several urban legends, below you will see what is true and what is not.

1. Tape Backups Failed for 77 percent of Businesses -- Myth!

This myth has been carried on and on and the truth is, it does not have a reference point, likely because it is old information or was misquoted. Remember the game of telephone you most likely played in school? Here is a classic example of that game played out in a real life conversation. So what is true?

Disaster recovery (otherwise known as DR) is a common structure for data centers, and the majority of companies have a plan regarding DR. Over half of these companies with a DR plan actually test it two times per year.

The alarming truth is that there is a notable percentage of companies that actually have no plan whatsoever, and even still, many do not test the plan that they DO have. Also unsettling is the fact that new threats are unveiled every month or so.

Another thing to consider is the fact that it usually takes around 24 hours for companies to recover from a disaster. This fact alone is reason enough for all businesses to have a comprehensive, not to mention, a well tested picture of the environment of their backup and recovery systems.

2. After a 10-day Recovery From a Disaster, 93 percent of Businesses Will File for Bankruptcy -- Myth!

This data was reportedly found on the National Archives and Records Administration website, but now cannot be found anywhere when people search for this particular piece of information. Once again, it is likely a result of outdated data or misunderstood information, and we again see a likely example of the game of telephone. So what is true?

Since 2007, IT practices of disaster recovery have been well studied. Most recently in 2013, it was discovered that within the last 5 years, 69 percent of companies have gone through a disaster of some kind, and that though the cost of lost data is significant, it is generally not enough to close a business down for good.

3. Disk Does Not Fail as Much as Tape Does -- Myth!

Many managers of IT and CIOS hold to this myth, and thus perpetuate it further and further. This is likely as a result from their past experiences with frequent restores and unstable servers and applications while working with tape-based systems. The disk versus tape debate is ultimately quite complex and the reliability of either depends on various factors. So what is true?

Both have been proven to be very dependable over time. According to a certain data study, it was shown that tape was more reliable since it only a bit was lost during failure, as opposed to a whole sector during a disk failure.

However, this is not necessarily the whole picture with respect to the reliability issue and must not be information that is used globally, lest another myth be created! The bottom line is this: both systems are better than ever in terms of their reliability, and both do fail.

4. Backups for Tape Are Not Tested by 34 percent of Companies -- Myth!

This myth is perpetuated often times in order to push business, and is usually paired with other myths regarding failure rates for tape restores. Here are some examples of claims that the above myth is generally paired with:

  • Tape backups failed to restore at a rate of 77 percent.
  • It has been stated that in last year, 42 percent of tape backup recoveries have failed.
  • Tape is said to fail at a rate of 50 percent in companies that are medium-sized.
  • Data from tape was unrecoverable by 40 percent of IT managers.
  • Some researchers claim that there is a 54 percent failure rate for restores.
  • It is claimed by others that 71 percent of restores end up failing.

So what is true?

As you may assume, it is impossible to find the original sources to the above claims, and yet they continue to be perpetuated in various circles. All CIOs and directors of IT departments are more than aware that failure regarding backups and restores do indeed happen.

Sadly, in a recent survey, many companies admitted to not being well prepared when it comes to disaster, even though they know that failure is possible, even more than likely. Even with a 98 percent rate of success with respect to backups, it doesn't necessarily mean that an administrator will have it easy in the event of a failure. In fact, this percentage can ultimately result in many backup failures depending on the size of your company.

The most important factors that need to be addressed during a failure are: where, which, and why? Tools that offer a comprehensive view of the of the entire backup system and locate problem areas are vital to incorporate and will help greatly in answering the above 3 questions.

The overarching theme regarding backups, recovery and DR is that it is becoming increasingly challenging to prepare appropriately for a disaster. There are multiple factors that could threaten the protection of your company’s data, and so the best defense in the end is being able to rest in the knowledge that there are many copies of your data backed-up.

It is also vital to ensure that the amount of time it will take to restore your data is appropriate and that data lost can be tracked during a reasonable timeframe within the window of recovery.

Photo Credit: docstockmedia/Shutterstock

Mike JohnsonMike Johnson is a Technical Writer for Rocket Software. He writes on topics like data protection, backup monitoring and reporting software. He holds a Bachelor of Science Management degree from DeVry University.

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