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Backups nobody has restored at accounting firms
We have backups, but have we ever restored one?
It is a fair question, and an honest one. Here is the risk of an untested backup, what good looks like, and what we do.
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The risk of backups nobody has tried
A client folder goes missing, a drive fails, or a file is overwritten on a busy day. Someone says, calmly, that we have backups. Then the questions start. Where are they? Which drive? Who knows the password? How far back do they go? The backup turns out to be a drive that has been plugged in all along, or a sync folder that copied the mistake as faithfully as it copied everything else. Nobody has ever tried to restore from it.
Good looks like the 3-2-1 plan: three copies, on two kinds of storage, one offsite in Vancouver, BC, with copies locked for 30 days so no one can change or delete them early, and test restores so you know the files come back. If a server itself fails, we restore it in under 2 hours.
A backup is only real once a test restore has proven it works. For the shared stack (Hyper-V, RAID 10, Meraki, Huntress, MFA and backups), see the accounting IT support overview and why firms run servers on Hyper-V.
What we put in place
- Immutable for 30 days. Right after a backup is written, it is locked so it cannot be changed or deleted for 30 days. Not forever, just long enough to matter. While the lock is on, ransomware cannot encrypt those copies and a mistake cannot erase them, even if the rest of the network is hit.
- The 3-2-1 plan. Server backups run on Veeam. Three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one offsite held in Canada, in Vancouver, BC.
- Test restores. We test restores so you know the files come back. Tell us how much work your firm could afford to lose, and we will talk through what that means for your setup.
- A failed server, back in under 2 hours. If the server itself fails, we restore it in under 2 hours. RAID 10 keeps a server running when a drive fails, but RAID is not a backup. Why Hyper-V.
- Cloud services need the same question. Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace keep the service running, but the data is yours to protect. Ask us about Microsoft 365 backups and Google Workspace backups.
Also see
Backup questions we hear
Is RAID a backup?
No. RAID keeps a server running if a drive fails. It does not help if a file is deleted, a virus encrypts everything, or the whole machine is lost. You still need separate backups with an offsite copy.
What does immutable mean for a backup?
It means the backup is locked as soon as it is written, so no one, not even an administrator or Benson Hunt, can change or delete it until the 30 day lock ends. It is not locked forever. When the period ends, the copy is released and ages out as normal.
Is OneDrive or Dropbox a backup?
Not by itself. Sync keeps files in step across computers, which means a mistake can be copied just as faithfully. Ask us how your sync folders are covered.
How fast can a server come back?
If the server itself fails, we restore it in under 2 hours. How long a single file takes depends on how much needs to come back. We will tell you plainly for your setup.