Question Server backup - What is the best practice?

KurskKnyaz

Senior member
Dec 1, 2003
880
1
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What is the best practice when it comes to backup up a server that is a domain controller and a file server for a small office with 20 workstations. Should I even run a file server on a domain controller or is it okay for an office this size?

I have separate partitions and sometimes drives for the OS and data.

This is how I usually plan backups (I've been using Acronis Backup & Recovery but I have mixed feelings about it):
Monthly - Full backup of System drive partition to NAS​
Monthly - Full backup of Data drive partition to NAS​
Daily - Differential backup of Data drive partition to NAS​
Hourly - Incremental backup of Data drive partition to NAS​
Daily - Full backup of files on Data partition to dedicated SSD in server​
Hourly - Incremental backup of files on Data partition to dedicated SSD in server​

I back up to separate locations and in different ways (files or partition) to have a variety of backup types in case something I'm not aware of goes wrong with one type. I like Acronis because I've been able to do recoveries to different hardware using Universal Restore with success so if the server goes down I can just use any Intel based workstation and recover to it.

Should I also be backing up to the cloud? I hate having to pay monthly for something.

I've been thinking of backing up to an NAS in a separate location using FTP as an alternative to paying for a cloud service. I want to set it up in a way where the NAS is powered off for most of the time and automatically powers on at a scheduled time when the backup will be performed.

The reasoning for this is to protect against cryptovirus attacks. Lets say the entire network is attacked by a cryptovirus and the passwords are compromised so it manages to spread all over the network. It won't get to the NAS because its powered off most of the time so the chances of everything getting encrypted are slim.

What do you think of this idea and what do you recommend as best practices for backing up a AD controller and file server in a small network.

Also, what are the advantages of using an NAS instead of a dedicated hard disk in the server? The NAS is a separate device so if there is some catastrophic event like a server power supply blowing out and taking all the hardware with it the data stored on an NAS won't be affected.

Also, is it a common practice to run bi-annual recovery drills or something similar to make sure the recovery procedure is working as expected?

Please advise. Thanks.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
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Gotcha down :)

So, Acronis is great for what you describe, being able to pop a workstation and full customization and other oddball stuff that might be on a client box, even to different hardware with the extra features for universal restore.

As for the rest combined with lack of a wish to get into a big monthly contract for backup. You can do this ;

Get OwnCloud, make your own fileserver using Linux. Cram it full of enough drives, and for the initial backup, run it locally on the lan there. Then, you can colocate it at a place with great internet speed for the future differential continual backup.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Gotcha down :)

So, Acronis is great for what you describe, being able to pop a workstation and full customization and other oddball stuff that might be on a client box, even to different hardware with the extra features for universal restore.

As for the rest combined with lack of a wish to get into a big monthly contract for backup. You can do this ;

Get OwnCloud, make your own fileserver using Linux. Cram it full of enough drives, and for the initial backup, run it locally on the lan there. Then, you can colocate it at a place with great internet speed for the future differential continual back
 

KentState

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2001
8,397
393
126
Typically, you break the backups into three different types and locations. For example, backup to another device, tapes and then off site.

The time period between incremental/differential and full is purely based on what the business can afford to lose and is there any benefit to versioning files. You can also have different backup types for the OS and files.

Also, how would you recover if the server was fried? Is it simple as opening up the latest Acronis archive and pulling files our or is the lack of a DC and file server detrimental to the business. Any idea of the data volume and amount of change that occurs daily?

At the last job where I had to deal with this stuff, we would run nightly backups of the servers to a remote file server and then tape backups off that. From there, we had a daily and weekly tape rotation out to Iron Mountain.
 

KurskKnyaz

Senior member
Dec 1, 2003
880
1
81
Typically, you break the backups into three different types and locations. For example, backup to another device, tapes and then off site.

The time period between incremental/differential and full is purely based on what the business can afford to lose and is there any benefit to versioning files. You can also have different backup types for the OS and files.

Also, how would you recover if the server was fried? Is it simple as opening up the latest Acronis archive and pulling files our or is the lack of a DC and file server detrimental to the business. Any idea of the data volume and amount of change that occurs daily?

At the last job where I had to deal with this stuff, we would run nightly backups of the servers to a remote file server and then tape backups off that. From there, we had a daily and weekly tape rotation out to Iron Mountain.


If the server was fried i would use Acronis Universal restore and recover to a different machine. It seems to work great from my experience.

Any reason why tape drives should still be used in this day and age? We don''t have a lot of data and storage capacity is cheap.
 

Arkaign

Lifer
Oct 27, 2006
20,736
1,379
126
Not a lot of data is good news.

Building out an OwnCloud rig and sticking it in your closet is a good plan if you're not talking huge amounts of data. You can continually capture everything to it, with deep versioning, so everything is recoverable even if it is just something someone misedited and didn't realize for months. You can browse snapshots of past days/months through the interface to recover a version or missing file from way on back.

As long as both sites have 10+mbit, should be perfect. You can schedule it to run from midnight to 6am if you want to miss any potential slowdown with network speeds. In terms of CPU, you don't need all that much, ram is more important. Something like a Lenovo S30, Xeon E5-1620 v2, pair of raid WD red 4TBs, boot 120GB SSD, 32GB of Registered ECC DDR3, Intel Dual Gbit hardware nic, stick it behind a decent UPS, and you have a great OwnCloud server that will be perfect for the off-site backup, no monthly payments because you run the whole show.