Backup and restore is the process of copying data preemptively for the specific purpose of restoring that same data following an event that results in a loss of either hardware storing that data, or the loss of only the data itself. This process, also known as data backup and restore, can be used to restore
entire volumes of electronic files and media or restore discrete smaller numbers of files for a variety of purposes, including:
- Accidental deletion or corruption of data
- Hardware failure
- Facilities damage due to natural disasters, fire or flooding
Backup and restore is not the same as
data archival. Data archival refers to the process of storing primary copies of inactive or otherwise non-critical data, generally for longer-term storage.
Backup and restore is performed by transferring designated backup data to some type of storage media, including magnetic tape backup, disk-to-disk backup, or with a variety of removable media including
CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, Zip drives, and others.
Disk-to-disk backup can be performed locally, called local backup, or via IP-WAN or online backup. Magnetic tape backup and removable media are fairly expensive media on which to store data but require extensive administration to manage and are prone to failure and corruption. Modern disk-to-disk backup systems are increasingly fault-tolerant and while initially costing more than tape backup or removable media, offer higher restore success rates, dramatically reduced administration, improved data
backup granularity, and other benefits.
Additionally, disk-to-disk backup and restore performed via IP-WAN allows an offsite data storage provider to ship drives containing recent backup data to customers in the event of a data loss event for a local restore, which can transfer data to new or existing hardware at LAN speeds without being restricted by IP-WAN bandwidth.
More and more businesses are making the switch from tape to online backup to manage all of their backup and restore processes, as value emphasis shifts from storage media costs to scalable savings achieved through streamlined administration and automation of backup and restore processes.
