As an IT professional, it's essential that you prepare for business interruptions. Your challenge is to determine the specific mix of backup, recovery and archiving tools that work best to maximize data protection while minimizing expense and the amount of time you spend managing equipment.

Building an effective data management environment requires up-front analysis of existing systems. First, determine whether data should be backed up or archived. Backups are designed for short-term use and are frequently overwritten. Archives, on the other hand, contain static data such as e-mail document files or old and inactive transaction records. Typically, as data ages, it is moved to an archive to save disk space and simplify administration.

Disk-to-disk backup
Today, many businesses are turning to disk-to-disk storage systems that complement or replace tape-based systems while providing high availability and effective data and disaster recovery. Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) drives are a popular disk-to-disk technology because they can reside externally or inside servers and PCs. SATA storage provides high levels of redundancy and works well until large files deplete capacity, which can happen quickly with graphics files. SATA is best for companies that have very general storage needs centered on basic applications.

Disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) backup
The marriage of disk technologies to tape technologies has opened the door to new levels of cost-effective and efficient backup. D2D2T transfers data from one disk-based system to another on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. It then eventually transfers all that data to a tape system for off-site backup. This process gives you access to more recent data while keeping data sets smaller and allowing for faster transfers.

D2D2T starts with a disk-based backup device. It can be a separate device on your network or a designated section of an existing server. The other components consist of backup and archiving software and a tape drive or library that is either directly attached to the disk storage or connected over your network.

Tape emulation
Tape emulation gives you the speed of disk-based backups in your tape-based environment. Tape emulators are disk-based systems that appear as tape libraries to your existing backup management software. Because these disks appear as tape, integration is seamless and you don't have to make any changes to your underlying backup processes.

Point-in-time copy and replication
Point-in-time copy is particularly effective for businesses with extremely tight backup windows. By generating a snapshot or mirror of data, it allows you to split up and store data on disks as needed. Point-in-time copy allows you to index and track the data on all of your disk arrays, making it possible to roll your system back to a specific recovery point down to four or six hours prior.

Replication works much like point-in-time copy in that it takes a snapshot of data across your disk array, but on an ongoing basis. Replication also allows you to strengthen disaster recovery by giving you the capability to collect and store the replicated data on a server at a remote site.

E-mail archiving
E-mail, and all of the attachments that come with it, can deplete significant amounts of server space. Today, several vendors offer appliances dedicated to relieving the burden of storage on your e-mail server. These products are available in either disk- or tape-based platforms and offer capacities up to 800GB. With them, you can index and archive all of the mailboxes connected to your e-mail server. This keeps data on your e-mail servers to a minimum, allowing for easier restores when necessary.

Active online data archiving
Active online data archiving is a service-based solution that boosts performance and availability of mission-critical data by placing historical data in an “active” online archive. Active online archiving services allow you to selectively browse and restore data as needed from an off-site hard disk that you access via the Web.

Create your backup strategy
Ideally, you would be prepared to restore data quickly from any disastrous event. Each type of backup technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. Your infrastructure should have a blend of each of the following:

• Archival backup devices, such as tape drives
• Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs)
• Mirrored servers
• Remote storage
• Local backup devices, such as CD writers
• Backup software