Comments on: Are Daily Backups Really Sufficent? http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/ The day to day goings on of our family Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:24:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Jacob http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/comment-page-1/#comment-109733 Jacob Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:49:53 +0000 http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/#comment-109733 I should have added, the archive logs were being written to the SAN but the nature of the problem that we experienced meant that the data on a couple of the member disks in the diskset was completely overwritten and destroyed. Due to how the ASM configuration was set up we were relying on the RAID redundancy of the shelf, and not using the inbuilt redundancy that you can use in ASM. This would also have gotten us out of the situation that we were in. I should have added, the archive logs were being written to the SAN but the nature of the problem that we experienced meant that the data on a couple of the member disks in the diskset was completely overwritten and destroyed. Due to how the ASM configuration was set up we were relying on the RAID redundancy of the shelf, and not using the inbuilt redundancy that you can use in ASM. This would also have gotten us out of the situation that we were in.

]]> By: Jacob http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/comment-page-1/#comment-109732 Jacob Thu, 23 Aug 2007 03:47:55 +0000 http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/#comment-109732 Actually... the real crux of the problem was that the archive logs were not being written to a secondary device so that once the backup was restored the processed transactions could be rolled forwards. In the event that this had been properly configured we would have been in a much better position. I've already discussed options and am working on the plan that will stop this from happening again... and yes internet ppl that read this, i'm the DBA responsible for this database... please feel free to flame away :) Actually… the real crux of the problem was that the archive logs were not being written to a secondary device so that once the backup was restored the processed transactions could be rolled forwards.

In the event that this had been properly configured we would have been in a much better position. I’ve already discussed options and am working on the plan that will stop this from happening again…

and yes internet ppl that read this, i’m the DBA responsible for this database… please feel free to flame away :)

]]> By: Al http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/comment-page-1/#comment-109713 Al Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:25:18 +0000 http://www.lattimore.id.au/2007/08/23/are-daily-backups-really-sufficent/#comment-109713 [Edit]: This comment was in response to someone from a company offering backup services. Whilst I was willing to let one spam-esque comment through in case it was done manually for a little self promotion, I'm not willing to let a second one through. The person in question stated that as a test, any company should request their IT department restore some 'critical' data as a test. Vicky, Recovering data in the above manner isn't a problem, we restore and use our backup data regularly in various other environments. In my opinion, the problem we faced was that our backup schedule wasn't happening often enough; such that too many changes were taking place during a business day, making a full disaster recovery painful (not impossible, just painful). After all is said and done, a business will always place a cost on the data. If the cost of losing it outweighs the cost of protecting it, then better solutions will be provided. Given that this is the first time in a many years, they might consider our current backup policy as 'adequate' and not want to pursue it further (unlikely) but just illustrating a point. Al. [Edit]: This comment was in response to someone from a company offering backup services. Whilst I was willing to let one spam-esque comment through in case it was done manually for a little self promotion, I’m not willing to let a second one through. The person in question stated that as a test, any company should request their IT department restore some ‘critical’ data as a test.

Vicky,

Recovering data in the above manner isn’t a problem, we restore and use our backup data regularly in various other environments.

In my opinion, the problem we faced was that our backup schedule wasn’t happening often enough; such that too many changes were taking place during a business day, making a full disaster recovery painful (not impossible, just painful).

After all is said and done, a business will always place a cost on the data. If the cost of losing it outweighs the cost of protecting it, then better solutions will be provided. Given that this is the first time in a many years, they might consider our current backup policy as ‘adequate’ and not want to pursue it further (unlikely) but just illustrating a point.

Al.

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