The global average data breach cost is estimated at $4.88 million (last recorded in 2024). These breaches occur due to human error, cyberattacks, or accidental data deletion. The financial impact can also be significant, as the company may need to pay fines, cover legal fees, and deal with lost business.
This is why it is important to have an effective 3-2-1 backup rule. It's a proven best practice for protecting your organization's data. But what exactly is the 3-2-1 backup rule, and how does it work? Let's find out all the details below!
What is the 3-2-1 rule?
The 3-2-1 rule is a data backup strategy that protects your data from hardware failures, cyberattacks, accidental deletion, and natural disasters. It suggests keeping three copies of your data on two different media types, with one copy stored offsite.
The 3-2-1 rule helps restore lost, corrupted, or encrypted data and entire systems. It minimizes downtime and meets your recovery time (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO). With this rule, you'll have a reliable backup system without creating one from scratch.
How Does the 3-2-1 Backup Rule Work?
- Keep 3 Copies of Your Data: This rule starts with creating three copies of your data. You have the original data and two backups. This setup minimizes the risk of losing important information. If one copy becomes inaccessible or corrupted, the other two provide a safety net.
- Use 2 Different Types of Storage Media: The next step is to store your backups on two distinct media types. It reduces the chances of simultaneous failure.
For instance, you can store one backup on an external hard drive and another on a USB flash drive, NAS device, or DVD. Using different technologies protects your data from issues tied to specific storage types.
- Store 1 Backup Offsite: Keep one backup in a separate location. This protects your data from local disasters like floods, fires, or theft. Options include cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox or a remote facility like a data center.
An offsite backup ensures you can recover data even if your primary and local backups are compromised.
Modern Trends and Considerations
As technology evolves, the 3-2-1 rule evolves too. Here are some modern trends and considerations that organizations are adopting:
1. Air-Gapped Backups
Air-gapping involves isolating backup data from the network, either physically or logically. This isolation keeps backup data safe from ransomware and other cyber-attacks that may compromise the primary network. Air-gapped backups are typically stored on offline devices or specialized systems only connected during scheduled backups.
For instance, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has integrated AI into its backup solutions, introducing features such as logically air-gapped vaults. These vaults automatically lock immutable backup copies using encryption, which helps prevent unauthorized access and accidental deletions. This AI-driven approach enhances security while optimizing clients' storage and retrieval processes.
2. AI and ML for Backup Optimization
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are now used to enhance backup strategies. AI tools analyze backup data and trends to predict potential issues. These technologies also optimize backup schedules to reduce resource consumption and improve performance.
3. Cloud Storage as a Preferred Option
Cloud storage has replaced traditional offsite storage like tape or external hard drives. Providers such as AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure offer secure, scalable, and accessible storage. Due to its convenience, many businesses now use the cloud as their offsite backup and primary data storage.
For example, Netflix relies heavily on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to store and manage its vast content library. This cloud-based approach enables Netflix to efficiently handle massive amounts of data and deliver seamless streaming experiences to millions of users worldwide.
4. Object Storage Systems
Object storage services, such as Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage, have transformed data backup. These systems provide scalable, durable, cost-effective solutions, particularly for unstructured data like media files and logs.
Unlike traditional file systems, object storage manages data as objects, simplifying scaling and handling large datasets.
What's Changed About the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?
The 3-2-1 backup strategy has long been a trusted method for safeguarding data. While the fundamental concept remains timeless, the strategy has evolved to address modern technology, cybersecurity risks, and business requirements. Here's how it has transformed:
Implementing a 3 2 1 backup strategy: Step By Step Guide
Below is a detailed, step-by-step process for implementing this strategy.
Step 1: Identify the Data to Backup
Start by identifying and prioritizing the critical data you need to back up. This helps you focus on what matters and avoids wasting time on unnecessary files. Key categories to consider include:
- Personal Files: This includes documents, photos, videos, music, and other personal media.
- Business Data: This may include databases, customer information, accounting records, project files, contracts, etc.
- System Configurations and Applications: This refers to the operating system configurations, essential applications, and system files necessary to run your environment.
Once you've identified your critical data, organize it for easier backup, making the process more efficient.
Step 2: Choose Backup Media and Solutions
You can use various types of media for both on-site and offsite backups. When selecting, consider factors like data volume, speed, and cost.
a) On-Site Media (2 Copies)
- External Hard Drives: Ideal for personal and small business backups.
- Network-Attached Storage (NAS): NAS systems are perfect for businesses, offering scalable and continuous backups over a local network.
- Local Servers: Businesses can use their servers for backups, though these devices face risks similar to those of other on-site media.
b) Offsite Media (1 Copy)
- Cloud Storage: Cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox or providers like Backblaze and AWS Glacier offer reliable backup options.
- Remote Servers: Some businesses store backups on remote servers in different geographic areas, either at other sites or with third-party hosting services.
Step 3: Set Up Backup Software
Backup software is essential for automating and managing your backup process. Reliable software ensures your backups are scheduled and stored correctly.
- For Personal Use: Programs like EaseUS Todo Backup, Acronis True Image, and Mac Time Machine are easy-to-use options for personal data.
- For Businesses: Tools like Flosum or Commvault provide enterprise-grade solutions. This allows managing large amounts of data easier across multiple locations.
Step 4: Establish a Backup Schedule
The frequency of backups depends on how often your data changes. Here are some standard options:
- Daily Backups: Ideal for business transactions, customer data, or daily documents.
- Weekly or Monthly Backups: Suitable for less critical data or archival files that don't change often.
Step 5: Test Your Backups
Test your backups regularly to ensure they are corruption-free and can be restored quickly. Perform complete restoration tests at least once every quarter to verify that your backup solution works as intended.
Step 6: Secure Your Backups
Securing your backups is essential to prevent unauthorized access or theft of your data:
- Use encryption to protect data stored in the cloud or remote servers.
- Secure cloud accounts and backup devices with strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA).
- Store on-site backup devices, like external drives or NAS systems, in lockable cabinets to prevent theft or unauthorized access.
Step 7: Monitor and Update Backup Processes
Monitor and update your backup strategy regularly to address evolving storage needs and aging hardware. Replace hard drives before they fail, as they have limited lifespans. Upgrade cloud storage or add local devices as your data grows to ensure your solution accommodates increased requirements.
How Flosum Can Help to Protect Your Data
When it comes to protecting your Salesforce data, Flosum has your back. It can help you achieve the backup strategy by automating backups and ensuring your data is secure and easy to recover. Here's how it works:
- Automated Backups: Flosum automates the backup process for Salesforce data and metadata. It ensures backups occur regularly without manual intervention. This automation helps maintain a predictable backup schedule that aligns with organizational needs.
- Composite Backup Technology: Instead of relying solely on traditional full and incremental backups, Flosum employs a Composite Backup approach. This method retrieves new, changed, and deleted data while integrating it with unchanged data stored in the backup container.
- Secure Offsite Storage: Flosum offers secure offsite backups that protect data in flight and at rest. To enhance data protection further, you can bring your security keys.
- Flexible Hosting Options: Organizations can choose how they host their backup data, including cloud hosting (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure), self-hosted solutions, or on-premises storage behind firewalls.
- Recovery Capabilities: It recovers lost or corrupted data through point-in-time restores and selective record restoration. This capability is crucial for meeting Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and minimizing downtime during recovery operations.
Here is a testimony of one of the Flosum users.
Flosum has genuinely streamlined our Salesforce development process. The intuitive interface makes version control and release management a breeze, saving valuable time and reducing errors. Deployments to production are now smooth and reliable, thanks to Flosum's robust CI/CD pipelines. Our team loves seamlessly Flosum integrates with Salesforce environments, ensuring our applications are always up-to-date and compliant. Flosum has been a game-changer for us, offering a user-friendly experience that enhances productivity and collaboration. ~Tauã Gentini Angelo, Administrator at Itau Unibanco
Conclusion
The 3-2-1 backup rule is a simple way to protect your data against hardware problems or cyberattacks. This means you should have three copies of your data, store them in two different types of storage, and keep one copy in a separate location. This strategy can significantly enhance your data protection strategy.
If you're looking for the best solution to streamline your data backup process, Flosum offers comprehensive options tailored to your needs. Book a meeting with them to see how their solutions can improve your backup strategy.
FAQs
1. What Is The 3/2/1 Backup Strategy?
The 3/2/1 backup strategy is a data protection method that involves keeping three copies of your data: the original and two backups. These copies should be stored on two different media types, with at least one backup kept offsite to protect against data loss due to disasters or failures.
2. What Does The 3/2/1/1 Rule Define Backup Principles To Follow?
The 3/2/1/1 rule expands on the original strategy by adding a layer of security: one copy must be stored on immutable storage. This protects backups from being altered or deleted, particularly in ransomware attacks. It emphasizes maintaining three copies on two media types: offsite and immutable.
3. How Can You Implement The 3-2-1 Rule?
To implement the 3-2-1 rule, create three copies of your data: one original and two backups. Store these backups on at least two media types (e.g., external hard drive and cloud storage). Ensure that one backup is kept offsite, and regularly test the backups to confirm they are functioning correctly and can be restored when needed.
