Which Data Protection Is Best?

There are certainly a plethora of data protection options available, running the gamut from tape backup to intra-array cloning and snapshotting. The cost and complexity of these technologies varies widely.

Traditional agent-based backup and recovery is typically the easiest and least costly option to implement, while solutions such as array-based snapshots and data de-duplication engines can be very complex and very costly.

The key to successfully determining the right technology for your environment is to start the process with the end in mind. The capital and operational costs associated with backup and recovery technologies should be driven by business requirements for data availability.

This requires the storage administrator to fully understand the recovery point objective (RPO) and recovery time objective (RTO) for each application or data set in the environment.

RPO defines the point in time to which data must be recovered. This metric should drive the frequency of backup operations. RTO defines the length of time available to actually restore data to production readiness. This metric should drive the mechanism of backup and recovery operations.Storage administrators should keep these metrics and drivers in mind when choosing the method of backup and recovery for their environment. Additionally, most enterprise environments can benefit from using multiple backup and recovery technologies based on the needs of the business.

Tim Arland, Principal Consultant for Storage Solutions, Forsythe Solutions Group Inc.