backupplan

A backup plan is a documented, structured approach to protecting data and ensuring its availability after loss, corruption, or disaster. It specifies what needs to be backed up, how often, where copies are stored, who can access them, and how restoration will be performed. The plan supports business continuity and regulatory compliance by defining recovery objectives such as the recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO).

Core components include data prioritization, backup frequency and retention, backup types (full, incremental, differential), storage locations (on-site, off-site, cloud), encryption and access controls, data integrity verification, runbooks for restoration, and clear roles and responsibilities. The plan also covers change management and configuration tracking to ensure backups stay aligned with the current environment.

Backup strategies commonly employ the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of data, on at least two media, with one off-site. Types of backups include full backups, incremental backups (only changes since the last backup), and differential backups (changes since the last full backup). Restoration time and required bandwidth influence the chosen mix. Cloud-based and on-premises options can be combined for redundancy.

Planning and governance address risk assessment, budgets, service level agreements, and compliance with data protection laws. Data classification helps determine what requires frequent backups and longer retention. Architects should document disaster recovery procedures and perform regular tests.

Regular testing of backups is essential to verify recoverability and to train staff. Tests should cover restoration procedures, verify data integrity, and simulate different disaster scenarios. Plan review and updates should occur after changes to systems, processes, or regulations.