Determining Windows 2000 Storage Management Strategies

Creating Backup and Off-Site Storage Policies

Your disaster recovery plan needs to include policies and procedures for backup and restoration of individual computers and entire systems. Your goal is to have clear instructions for recovering your data.

Backup Policies

When creating backup policies, consider the following strategies:

Back up all computers or only selected computers. Do you plan to back up your entire network or will you back up only the servers that have important user files?

Create network-based backup or local backup. Will you have a few backup servers with tape devices that read data across the network from all selected servers, or will all users be responsible for backing up their data?

Use a centralized backup policy or a distributed backup policy. Will a single IT group back up all the organization's servers or will each group do its own backup? If the latter is the case, will you establish guidelines for when and how to back up?

Your backup plan needs to include implementation of the following activities:

Secure both the storage device and the backup media.
Make copies of all required device drivers so that storage devices can be used in case of disaster. The device drivers are needed to restore operations.
Create and keep printed copies of backup logs. These are essential for restoring data.
Keep three copies of the media. Store at least one copy off-site in a properly controlled environment.
Periodically perform a trial restoration to verify that your backup set can be read and that it contains all the files you want to have backed up. For more information about using specific backup methods and procedures, see "Backup" in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server Resource Kit Server Operations Guide.

Considerations for Off-Site Storage

Consider storage of the following data and information when planning for off-site storage:

A full backup of the entire system, done on a weekly basis.
The originals of all installed programs and required device drivers.
Documents required to facilitate an insurance claim, such as hardware and software inventory records; and copies of purchase orders or receipts for computer hardware and software.
A copy of information required to reinstall and reconfigure network hardware.