Practical guide
How to build a backup and recovery plan
Design backups around the restore your business must be able to complete.
Set recovery time and data-loss targets
- List the systems and data required to resume the service.
- Decide how much recent work can be lost and how quickly each system must return.
- Record dependencies such as DNS, credentials, encryption keys and provider accounts.
Keep copies outside the source system
Use more than one backup copy and keep at least one outside the system being protected. A hosting snapshot or provider backup is useful, but it should not be the only recovery path for important data.
Protect backup access and keys
- Limit backup and restore permissions separately from routine application access.
- Protect encryption keys and recovery codes outside the affected system.
- Monitor failed jobs, unexpected size changes and missed retention points.
Test a restore in isolation
Run a controlled restore into an isolated destination, verify checksums or application behavior, and record the actual time and steps. Update the plan when the test exposes a missing dependency or manual decision.
Check your plan with practical tools.
Use a calculator or lookup to check your estimates, or read another guide.