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Backups gone badly
By Michael Pietroforte | No Comments | Permalink | Trackback | Previous | NextComputerworld published some nice user stories of backups gone badly. This is my favorite:
While I was on vacation, a young IT staffer, new to the company, decided to run his own “updated” version of an Oracle backup — wiping out the live database. I had to fly back from Scotland to rebuild the database and restore from backup. Thankfully, only a half-day’s work had to be input — by 30 people!
Oh, oh. I wonder if this young IT staffer will get the chance to become an old IT staffer. The complexity of backups is often underestimated (not only by inexperienced IT professionals).
Maybe today is a good day to recheck your backup strategy. The most common mistake is to introduce a new backup system without thoroughly testing it in the lab. The story of the young IT staffer is an excellent example for this.
Bye the way, Computerworld also has a lengthy guide about backup strategies in data centers.
