A single copy of the data may sound sufficient, but unfortunately, many companies have failed with this single-copy concept. In the early 2000s, Peter Krogh, a photographer (yes, you heard it right, not a tech-savvy person), invented the 3-2-1 backup rule to protect his photographs. He explained this concept in his book The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers in 2007.
Today, this rule is a crucial topic in the world of backups. It explains what, how, and where your backup copies should be stored.
This article will help you understand the concept and provide answers to the most common questions you might encounter. We’ll also introduce BDRSuite to make this concept easier to grasp.
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
The 3-2-1 backup rule is a straightforward concept. You should create three copies of your data: the original and two additional copies. These two copies should be stored in two different storage locations, with one copy saved in an offsite location, such as the cloud. The illustration visually explains it.
Advantages of 3-2-1 Backup Strategy
There are several advantages of using 3-2-1 backup strategy. In the first place, by creating three copies of your data you are ensuring redundancy, which reduces the risk of data loss due to hardware or system issues. Having multiple copies of your data also helps in maintaining quick and reliable data recovery.
The second reason is physical data security. If you have a backup copy in an offsite location or in the cloud, you add an additional layer of security against events such as theft, fire, or natural disasters.
Imagine a scenario where an IT Administrator accidentally deletes data or a backup copy. That is not a big deal, since you have multiple copies in place. This reduces downtime due to user error.
For the business environment, implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule can help meet regulatory compliance requirements.
Additionally, as a business or IT Administrator, you have peace of mind knowing that you have multiple copies fully protected in case of data loss. This helps you with long-term data preservation.
Best Practices for the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy
Implementing the 3-2-1 backup strategy is crucial, but it’s not the only step. As a business or an IT Administrator, you must also ensure that, in addition to following the 3-2-1 backup rule, you implement best practices to keep your backup environment and backup copies consistently healthy and ready for restoration.
When you decide to implement a backup strategy following the 3-2-1 rule, you should take some important factors into consideration. In the first place, you need to choose where you want to store your data. Secondly, you can also make data classification, which helps you prioritize data based on its importance, ensuring that critical data receives the highest level of protection.
Your backup copies should be encrypted in transit and at rest. Additionally, implementing immutable storage and data can help protect you against ransomware. Ransomware cannot make changes to immutable storage or backup copies.
When you choose storage devices and data you want to backup, you should ensure that your backups are performed regularly, based on a schedule that suits you best. Additionally, you should automate the process within the backup software to eliminate human errors.
If you don’t intend to retain your data indefinitely, you should implement a backup retention policy to specify the duration for which you want to keep your backup copies.
Your data is copied to different storage locations and the cloud. You don’t wait for alarms to signal that one of the components is down; instead, you ensure continuous monitoring of various hardware, system and software metrics on your physical storage and volumes. You accomplish this by using NMS (Network Monitoring Solution) and SIEM (Security Information and Event Management).
Being proactive means not only having backups but also actively monitoring the backup environments.
Your IT professionals should be aligned with the 3-2-1 backup approach. The best way to achieve this is through internal training, emphasizing the importance of the 3-2-1 rule and how to maintain and document it from a technological perspective.
Finally, once everything is configured, you should regularly review your backup strategy and adjust as needed.
While it may sound like a lot, these are fundamental practices that you should implement.
In fact, BDRSuite supports all of the backup practices mentioned, and their implementation is straightforward.
Do 3-2-1 Backup copies need to be tested?
Having the 3-2-1 backup rule implemented in the infrastructure is a proactive step. However, if the backup is done but not properly verified, you are not protected.
Imagine a scenario where one of your VMs fails, and you try to restore it from a backup, only to find out that it’s corrupted. In the worst case, you end up starting things from scratch, which results in a long downtime and potential financial loss.
As a matter of precaution, you need to ensure that the backup copies are regularly verified. You can automate it to run at a specific time or after the backup is done and receive notifications once the task is completed. That way you know if your backup copies are healthy or not.
Backup verification in BDRSuite
BDRSuite Backup server supports a 3-tier backup verification process. Firstly, BDRSuite will perform a boot check to ensure that the operating system is bootable. Additionally, it will create a screenshot as proof. Secondly, it will mount the backup image to BDR server’s Disk Management. This will help with data integrity check to confirm that the backup is consistent and has not been altered. If mount check and boot check is successful, your backup is healthy.
Does the 3-2-1 rule guarantee 100% data protection?
The 3-2-1 backup rules don’t guarantee absolute protection, but it significantly reduces the risk of data loss. Regardless of how big your company is, you should ensure that you follow the 3-2-1 rule.
For example, US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) recommends using 3-2-1 backup in their publication Data Backup Options.
They said: “All computer users, from home users to professional information security officers, should back up the critical data they have on their desktops, laptops, servers, and even mobile devices to protect it from loss or corruption. Saving just one backup file may not be enough to safeguard your information.”
Do I need to follow the 3-2-1 rule for all my data?
This depends on how important your data is. If you feel that they are important and data loss would put you in trouble, then you should implement the 3-2-1 backup rule.
Why should I use two different media or formats?
It provides redundancy for your data. Imagine a scenario where you store your data on two different disks within the same storage. If the main storage device fails, your data would be inaccessible. Storing two copies in two different locations adds another layer of protection.
How BDRSuite can help you with your 3-2-1 backup strategy?
BDRSuite is a backup solution designed for both SMBs and enterprises, covering your 3-2-1 backup strategy. Let’s explore how this is practically realized.
What BDRSuite can protect?
BDRSuite is designed to protect data that spans across data centers, private and public clouds, SaaS (Software as a Service) and endpoints. It is unified backup and recovery for VMware, Hyper-V, KVM, Server, NAS/Fileshare, Endpoint, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, AWS, Azure and Applications.
What Backup repositories are available?
A Backup Repository is where backup data is stored. BDRSuite supports block and object storage. You can create them immediately or during the backup initial configuration. Block storage is faster and more expensive than object storage. Object storage is more customizable and scalable.
The 3-2-1 backup rule involves utilizing both block and object storage. As previously mentioned, it necessitates generating three copies of data, with two copies stored at distinct locations, typically on block storage, and one copy kept offsite in cloud-based object storage.
BDRSuite supports various block storage repositories, such as local drives (DAS – Directly Attached Storage), NAS (Network Attached Storage) with NFS (Network File System) and CIFS (Common Internet File System), and SAN (Storage Area Network), including iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) and FC (Fibre Channel).
You store your two copies on the aforementioned backup repositories.
The third copy should be stored offsite, on an object storage hosted in the cloud. BDRSuite supports Google Cloud Storage, Amazon S3 Storage, and Azure Blob Storage. These cloud storage options are already integrated into the product, and you can configure them with just a few clicks.
What if you’re using another S3-compatible cloud storage, like Wasabi, MinIO, or others? BDRSuite has you covered, as it supports any S3-compatible object storage. BDRSuite communicates with S3 storage using APIs. You can read more details here S3 Compatible Storage.
Note:
- BDRSuite supports S3 Compatible Storage to store primary backup data, secondary backup copies, and offsite backups as well.
- Backups for VMware VMs, Hyper-V VMs, Windows Servers, Linux, Endpoints (Windows & mac), Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace can be configured using BDRSuite and can be stored on S3 Compatible Storage.
What are BDRSuite Key Features?
In one of my blog articles, I covered nine key features that make BDRSuite a suitable backup solution for networks of any size. First and foremost, it supports centralized management through a single user interface (UI) to handle all of your backups.
Additionally, it provides support for instant boot, allowing you to quickly boot your failed virtual machines. Moreover, it offers support for instant boot live migration, a process that involves permanently moving backup data from the instant boot environment to the production environment for virtual/physical machines.
If you are using Exchange or SQL Server, you can enable application-aware backup. Application-aware backup is a technology that comprehends the structure of applications, ensuring effective backup procedures.
BDRSuite supports both image backups and file and folder backups. It also offers granular recovery, allowing you to back up and recover individual files or items from your disk, rather than having to restore the entire disk or system.
One of the best practices is to configure backup retention and backup verification, and BDRSuite supports both features.
You can replicate a copy of your backup data to various offsite storage options, including a secondary disk, cloud storage, or tape. This approach ensures that your data is securely stored in different locations, providing added protection against data loss in case of disasters or hardware failures.
You have the freedom to scale your storage repositories according to your storage requirements without any limitations.
You can read more here 9 Key Features that Make BDRSuite the Ideal Backup Solution.
Conclusion
The 3-2-1 backup rule is a backup strategy that helps you make your data redundant in case of data loss. It means you should have at least three copies of data, with two stored on different media, and one stored offsite, such as in the cloud.
The 3-2-1 backup is developed by Peter Krogh, a photographer. He explained this concept in his book The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers in 2007.
Peter Krogh, you’ve just inspired me to read your book!
There are several benefits to implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule in your organization. First, it provides you with data redundancy, increases data security when you use offsite backup, aligns with regulatory compliance, ensures long-term data preservation, and gives your IT teams peace of mind.
This article covers all the details you need to know. If we missed something, let us know.
The 3-2-1 rule is one of the best practices to minimize data loss. BDRSuite helps you stay safe by implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule and provides you with advanced features.
Try it now and let us know if you need a hand.
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