Backups that work: the 3-2-1 rule

Having backups and having backups that work aren't the same thing. Plenty of people find out their copy was useless on the very day they need it. The 3-2-1 rule sums up how to do it right.

What the 3-2-1 rule is

Three copies of the data, on two different media, with one of them off-site. It sounds like a lot, but in practice it's: the data in production, an automatic local copy, and a copy off the server. With that you cover almost any disaster.

A copy on the same machine doesn't save you

If the only backup lives on the same server, the day that machine fails you lose everything at once: the data and its copy. That's why the off-site copy (another machine, the cloud) is the one that actually saves you.

Test the restore (the most forgotten part)

A backup that's never been restored is an assumption, not a guarantee. It's worth doing a test restore now and then and confirming it really recovers. It's the difference between sleeping soundly and getting a surprise.

Automate, rotate and encrypt

Manual things get forgotten: backups should be automatic and regular, keep a history (rotation) and, if they hold sensitive data, be encrypted. A good system does all this on its own and warns you if a copy fails.

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