Incremental Forever Methodology
Incremental forever methodology is similar to traditional incremental tape backups where each incremental performs a backup of all changes since the last backup. This technology differs however in that only one full backup or base image is required. This greatly reduces the time it takes to perform backups as each incremental backup generally takes only seconds to complete.
Incrementals
The incrementals take place at the frequency that we schedule. If you require 24/7 backups at 15-minute incrementals, then this will create 96 incremental files each day. If you decide on one-hour incrementals, then this will create 24 incremental files each day. Each of these incrementals will be saved on the NAS but only one image is pushed off-site daily to our co-location facility.
Synthetic Incrementals
Each incremental file is eventually collapsed into a synthetic incremental (basically a larger incremental file). This is done to ensure chain integrity and to speed up restorations. The fewer hops from the current point-in-time back to the base image, the faster your restoration will be, should it be required.
- Intra-day incrementals collapse to a synthetic daily incremental
- Synthetic daily incrementals collapse to a synthetic weekly incremental
- Synthetic weekly incrementals collapse to a synthetic monthly incremental
- The synthetic monthly incremental is currently the highest level backup to the base image
Recovery Options
Recovering files and folders is a simple process where the entire server is mounted as a volume on the NAS device. The files can then be copied to the destination server over the network. We also have utilities enabling us to restore files, folders, Exchange mailboxes or messages and SQL tables and databases remotely.
Standby Server Using Instant Virtualisation
The NAS device has the ability to create a standby “server” of a failed server by creating a virtual image of the failed server on the NAS. This unique ability is due to the fact that the virtualisation engine natively understands the backup images as a hard drive allowing a failed server to be virtualised within minutes. No reconfiguration is needed as the “virtualised” server retains the same IP address, NetBIOS name, MAC address and application state of the original server, at the time of the backup. All so once virtualised, the standby server will resume the backup schedule that was in effect before the failure.
Bare-Metal Restore (Virtual to Physical)
When it comes time to restore the virtualised server back to physical hardware, our bare-metal restore process allows restorations to dissimilar hardware. This functionality can also be used to migrate an image of old servers to new servers.
Monitoring and Management
Computer Troubleshooter’s total BDR solution is monitored and managed 24/7 by our
NOC Team. We spends about 45 minutes setting up you and your new NAS. If a problem occurs during any backup or with the hardware, we are quickly notified and can take corrective action.
Technology and Features
The features and functions that comprise our affordable Backup and Disaster Recovery Solution include:
- On-site and off-site storage
- Virtualisation capabilities
- More recovery points to thoroughly protect your clients’ vital data and network operations.
- Fully monitored and remotely managed.
Block-Level Backups
A block-level backup is where we capture the entire server’s partitions or drives at the 1s and 0s level. Block-level data is raw data which does not have a file structure imposed on it. The block-level image is an exact digital duplicate of the on-site server. Database applications such as Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server transfer data in blocks and whether the files are open or being used makes no impact. This technology allows for complete server restorations based on the last functioning server’s state before the failure occurred.
Our Backups are performed by server volume or partition. For virtualisation we capture the boot volume and any other volume(s) containing server applications. For example, if on your server is installed with the operating system on drive C and Exchange on drive D, we must then have both C and D backed up if your business requires a virtualised server in a disaster.
The frequency of off-site backups is limited by the amount of available bandwidth at your site. Limited Internet bandwidth results in longer transmission periods so backups off site may take place on an hourly or daily basis.
Security
Encryption is an important step in the process of transmitting data between the NAS and our remote co location site because it greatly reduces the risk of data loss incidents that plague magnetic tape backup solutions and prevents “man-in-the-middle” attacks during transmission. We employ the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) algorithm to encrypt the backup images before they are saved on the NAS. After imaging the servers to which it is attached, the NAS device creates an independent 256-bit encrypted tunnel and transmits the imaged data to our secure off-site location where it resides in an encrypted, compressed format. That remote site then replicates again to an alternate data center, creating a total of three copies of the data in three geographically distinct regions. Only the business nominated users have the pass key to the encrypted data — no one at our NOC has access to the data on the NAS or the remote storage facilities.
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