Introduction
The old tape-based HFS backup service has now moved to an on-premise, disk-based backup architecture which brings with it improved performance and service to the backup of the University's information assets. The disk-based architecture is now in place in two data centres, allowing the asynchronous replication of client backups across sites ensuring both speed and security of those backups while all the time retaining online availability of those backups for immediate recovery. Modern backup technologies including deduplication and compression deliver efficiency savings in storage while strong encryption of data in transit and at rest ensures the continued security of client data.
A note about data risk
The service holds copies of all data on servers at two physically separate datacentres. There is no offline copy of backed-up data, and the service is not resilient against simultaneous loss of data integrity at both sites. Customers with critical datasets requiring a higher level of resilience should consider whether additional backup measures are required.
Features
The solution is licensed on capacity, so there is both a fair use presumption and effective upper limits on total backup storage.
- Uses IBM Spectrum Protect software
- In most cases holds up to 7 versions of a file for 90 days
- Scheduled backups are run overnight 7 days a week and are limited only by time, not by data sent
- Client encrypted data is not compatible with deduplication and compression technologies: encryption in transit and at rest removes the need for client encryption
