{"id":25273,"date":"2022-12-19T10:35:05","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T02:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/?p=25273"},"modified":"2022-12-19T10:35:05","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T02:35:05","slug":"data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Backup vs. Disaster Recovery: What&#8217;s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25367 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=696%2C364&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"data backup vs. disaster recovery\" width=\"696\" height=\"364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=300%2C157&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=1024%2C536&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=768%2C402&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=696%2C364&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=1068%2C559&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=218%2C114&amp;ssl=1 218w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?resize=803%2C420&amp;ssl=1 803w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Should your company invest in disaster recovery (DR) solutions, or just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/acronis\/backup\/server\">data backups<\/a> would be enough to mitigate emergencies?<\/p>\n<p>While backups and disaster recovery sound similar, data backup is an action that is part of the larger concept of disaster recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Data loss may be terrifying and have major financial consequences. A downtime can set in all of a sudden, it does not always give tech teams the leeway to take a data backup.<\/p>\n<p>It could be as minor as an employee opening an infected email or as serious as a natural disaster. You will regret not having a disaster recovery plan for your data.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the distinction between a data backup and disaster recovery is critical for developing a well-rounded, successful security plan.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Data Backup vs. Disaster Recovery<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Both disaster recovery and data backups safeguard you in the case of a catastrophe, however they are not the same thing:<\/p>\n<p>A data backup is an additional physical or virtual copy of data on another storage device (hard disk, CD\/DVD, flash drive, cloud storage, and so on). If you accidentally delete a file, you can recover it from a backup.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/disaster-recovery\">Disaster recovery (DR)<\/a> is a step-by-step procedure for responding to a significant disaster by transferring to a backup IT infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>Disaster recovery guarantees that vital functions continue to operate normally in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.<\/p>\n<p>While data backups are essential for security, they are not the same as a disaster recovery plan.<\/p>\n<p>If you face a regional outage or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/cyber-security-threats-predictions\/\">large-scale cyberattack<\/a>, data copies will not be enough to maintain company continuity.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Exactly is a Data Backup?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/acronis\/backup\/server\">data backup<\/a> is a physical or virtual copy of data that allows you to restore a file if the original is lost or damaged. Having a backup is critical for avoiding data loss in the following scenarios:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Theft of data (office break-ins, data breaches, ransomware attacks, stolen laptops, etc.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Employee accidents (accidental file deletion, misplaced device, data leaking, etc.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Technical difficulties (crashed hard drive, database corruption, failed software upgrades, etc.).<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Natural calamities (fires, storms, earthquakes, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Companies often generate data backups at regular intervals (every few hours, once per day, monthly, etc.) to guarantee backups remain current.<\/p>\n<p>These &#8220;data save points&#8221; can be kept on multiple media and locations, both on-premises and in the cloud.<\/p>\n<p>The data backup method is pretty straightforward because your security team must:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Determine sensitive data.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Select a backup type.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Determine how long you need to store backups and how frequently you need to backup data.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Determine the best data backup interval.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Determine incidents where a company may lose data.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Check that backups meet data storage requirements.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Staff should be trained on proper data backup procedures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Backup Data Types &#8211; Full, Differential &amp; Incremental<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>1# Full backup<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Pros &#8211; A complete duplicate of the data collection; easy to set up; very dependable.<\/p>\n<p>Cons &#8211; Requires the largest data backup storage space and consumes the most network bandwidth.<\/p>\n<h3><b>2# Differential backup<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Pros &#8211;<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> efficient use of storage capacity; faster than full<\/span>\u00a0backups<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; faster restoration than incremental<\/span>\u00a0backups<\/p>\n<p>Cons<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; Consumes more network traffic and storage space than incremental <\/span>data backups<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3# Incremental backup<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Pros<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: takes up the least amount of space; is the quickest <\/span>data backup<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> kind; and consumes relatively little network traffic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Cons<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Time-consuming restoration; full restoration is difficult if one of the incremental<\/span>\u00a0backups<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is missing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/data-backup-full-incremental-differential\/\">Cloud Backup: Differential vs. Incremental<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no reason why multiple <\/span>data backup<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> methods cannot be used concurrently to increase resilience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 3-2-1 backup rule, which stands for three copies of data on two types of media with one off-site copy, should be followed. Data backups may be stored in three ways:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_25277\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25277\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-25277 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=696%2C283&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"3-2-1 backup rule\" width=\"696\" height=\"283\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=1024%2C416&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=300%2C122&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=768%2C312&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=696%2C283&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=1068%2C434&amp;ssl=1 1068w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=218%2C89&amp;ssl=1 218w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?resize=1034%2C420&amp;ssl=1 1034w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/3-2-1-backup-rule.png?w=1263&amp;ssl=1 1263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25277\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From: https:\/\/www.msp360.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Local\u00a0backup<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Backup to a local device near the data source is known as &#8220;local backup&#8221; (tapes, disks, hard and flash drives, CDs, etc.).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Off-site\u00a0backup<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211; A copy of the <\/span>data backup <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is kept at a location other than the original.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Online\u00a0backup<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; Refers to the use of a third-party service to backup data remotely over the Internet, generally on a cloud-based server.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>What Exactly is Disaster Recovery?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Disaster recovery<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (DR) refers to a collection of policies and processes that allow a corporation to swiftly restore access to its IT systems after a natural or man-made disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Disaster recovery<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, as opposed to <\/span>data backup<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is a comprehensive approach for guaranteeing business continuity in many situations that might impair (or fully cease) important activities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here are some examples of unanticipated events in <\/span>disaster recovery<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/cyber-security-threats-predictions\/\">Cyberattacks<\/a> (virus, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/how-to-prevent-cybercrime-ddos-attack\/\">DDoS<\/a>, ransomware, APT attacks, etc.).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pcmag.com\/encyclopedia\/term\/sabotage\" rel=\"noopener\">Sabotage<\/a> (both from an external and interior danger)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are power outages.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Failure of equipment.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An act of terrorism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data loss is a costly mistake.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The network goes down.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A workplace mishap.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A natural calamity<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A disaster recovery strategy should include the capacity to transition to a redundant set of servers and storage systems.<\/p>\n<p>In times of crisis, this data backup infrastructure kicks in and sustains operations until the primary data center is operational again.<\/p>\n<p>Based on how quickly you can get a site up and running, there are three types of disaster recovery facilities:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Hot site with all the necessary equipment, technology, and up-to-date data.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Warm site with all essential equipment and technology but no up-to-date data.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">Cold site that solely hosts the IT infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Backup vs. Disaster Recovery: Do Not Ignore Incidents<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/data-backup-full-incremental-differential\/\">Data backups<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> alone will not keep your organization going in the event of an emergency. Any business that wishes to withstand a significant unforeseen occurrence should have a <\/span>disaster recovery <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strategy in place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no way to guarantee business continuity without <\/span>disaster recovery<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">statistics <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">clearly show that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackhat.com\/docs\/us-17\/2017-Black-Hat-Attendee-Survey.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">disasters happen &#8220;when,&#8221; not &#8220;if.<\/a>&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Data backup<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is one thing; <\/span>disaster recovery<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is quite another. You should have a <\/span>disaster recovery <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">strategy in place for many situations, including one in which your infrastructure stays intact but your data is lost and another in which you must put up completely new infrastructure and then restore data to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to get the best <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/acronis\/backup\/server\">data backup<\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/disaster-recovery\">disaster recovery<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/disaster-recovery\"> plan<\/a> for your organization, <\/span>Exabytes <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can help you with all in one<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/acronis\/cyber-protect\"> cyber protection solutions<\/a>. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact us now <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to learn more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/contact\"><span class=\"td_btn td_btn_md td_default_btn\">Contact Us<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Related articles:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/how-veeam-back-up-vmware-virtual-machines\/\">How Veeam Helps Back up Your VMware Virtual Machines<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/start-your-backup-data-recovery-plans\/\">Start Your Backup &amp; Data Recovery Plans Before It&#8217;s Too Late<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Should your company invest in disaster recovery (DR) solutions, or just data backups would be enough to mitigate emergencies? While backups and disaster recovery sound similar, data backup is an action that is part of the larger concept of disaster recovery. Data loss may be terrifying and have major financial consequences. A downtime can set [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":25367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[293],"tags":[31,543,557],"class_list":{"0":"post-25273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-security-backup","8":"tag-backup","9":"tag-cloud-backup","10":"tag-data-backup"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/data-backup-vs-disaster-recovery.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbHhPQ-6zD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25273"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25273\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25368,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25273\/revisions\/25368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.exabytes.sg\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}