subject: Critical Reasons to Test Your Backups [print this page] Critical Reasons to Test Your Backups Critical Reasons to Test Your Backups
Without fail, every year I get at least one panicked phone call after someone tries, unsuccessfully, to restore a backup. "But Richard, we've been backing up religiously for months. We've never missed one night!" The panic can be driven by any of a number of reasons: the backup is missing files, it contains the wrong files, or the tape is faulty. No matter what the reason, the end result is the same: a company that's missing critical information and data and is now faced with the Herculean, if not impossible, task of re-creating it. And adding to the panic is the problem that resulted in the need to restore data in the first place hard drive failure, power surge, virus or plain ol' human error.
Could that happen to you? Don't be too quick to dismiss the idea thinking, "Impossible. We always backup." Trust me, doing the backup is rarely the problem. Verifying it is. Rule one is: you can only be sure you have a backup if you have tested the restoration. So if you dismissed this nightmare scenario because you always backup, but never tested your restoration, sleep lightly. The nightmare could be lurking for you too.
Restoration Testing
The biggest mistake I see companies regularly make is that they rarely test the restoration of their backup.Then when they need to restore the backup, they find they were not backing up every file they needed or that the tape was faulty.I have heard many reasons over the years, but the bottom line is that you cannot be sure you have a backup unless you have tested restoring your data.
Your system administrator can help with restoration testing. Microsoft offers Virtual PC that allows you to test on an existing server (or beefed-up PC). I usually suggest that clients keep their old servers as test equipment. They don't need to be production-quality, but they do need a lot of RAM and hard-drive space. Test-level servers can also be purchased for under $1000.00.
Take the necessary steps now to test your backup restoration. Periodically ensure that your backups are undergoing test restorations. Don't delude yourself thinking that a particular service, consultant or employee is responsible for your backup. Ultimately, it will be your nightmare, so it's your responsibility to be certain you've got the pieces in place to avoid it.
You'll have no one to blame but yourself if you don't have a backup when you need one. By ensuring that your backups are being done correctly, you'll find you sleep a little bit better at night.
