What is Backup & Disaster Recovery? - Explanation & Meaning
Learn what backup and disaster recovery is, how RPO/RTO work, and why a solid disaster recovery plan is essential for business continuity.
Definition
Backup and disaster recovery (BDR) encompasses the strategies, procedures, and technologies organizations use to protect data from loss and quickly restore systems after an incident. It is the foundation of business continuity in a digital environment.
Technical explanation
Two core metrics define a BDR strategy: Recovery Point Objective (RPO) determines how much data loss is acceptable (the maximum time between two backups) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO) determines how quickly systems must be operational again after an incident. The 3-2-1 backup rule advises three copies of data, on two different media, with one offsite. Incremental backups store only changes since the last backup, reducing storage space and backup time. Snapshot technology creates point-in-time copies of entire systems. Disaster recovery planning involves identifying critical systems, defining recovery priorities, and regularly testing the plan through disaster recovery drills. Cloud-based DR solutions offer geo-redundant storage and automatic failover to a secondary region. Database point-in-time recovery (PITR) restores databases to any arbitrary moment. Immutable backups protect against ransomware by preventing backups from being encrypted or deleted.
How MG Software applies this
MG Software implements robust backup and disaster recovery strategies for all applications we manage. We configure automatic daily backups with point-in-time recovery for databases, regularly test the recovery process, and document DR procedures for our clients. Our cloud infrastructure is set up with geo-redundancy to guarantee maximum availability, even during regional outages.
Practical examples
- A fintech company maintaining an RPO of 5 minutes and an RTO of 30 minutes, with continuous database replication to a secondary region and automated failover procedures.
- A manufacturing company that is fully operational within two hours after a ransomware attack thanks to immutable backups that could not be encrypted by the ransomware.
- A SaaS provider conducting monthly disaster recovery drills where the team practices restoring the full application stack from backups in an alternative cloud environment.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
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