What is the 3-2-1 Backup Rule?

18 Feb 2021 IT Services

Properly backing up your business’ important data and information will help ensure your data will survive a range of different hazards, such as natural disasters, fire, theft, malware, and human error. If you are unsure about what the 3-2-1 backup rule is and whether or not it will work well for your specific situation, the team of IT experts from Next Hop Solutions can help you make an informed decision.

Find out what the best way to backup files is.

What is the 3-2-1 Backup Strategy?

The 3-2-1 backup rule is a recovery method that is specifically designed to ensure that a business’ data is being properly protected and that backup copies of the data are easily accessible when needed.

Learn more about how to keep data safe and secure.

How Does the 3-2-1 Backup Rule Work?

The basic idea behind the 3-2-1 rule is that three copies of your business’ data are made with two copies being stored on different storage devices and one copy being stored offsite.

Keep 3 Copies of Your Data

Since a wide variety of potential threats and incidents—fire, vandalism, natural disasters, malware, ransomware, human error, etc.—could potentially damage your computer network at any given time, having one backup of your important business information will most likely not be enough to ensure that the data is being kept as safe and secure as possible. Having three copies of your important business information (the primary data and two backups of the primary data) can help minimize the risks of not being able to restore the data after a disaster.

Store 2 Copies on Different Storage Devices

When choosing which devices to store your company data on, it is important to keep in mind that storage devices will fail sooner or later. This means that storing data on two of the same type of device is often much riskier than storing data on two different types of devices. Consider storing primary data on an internal hard drive and storing backup copies on an external hard drive or on the cloud.

Keep 1 Backup Offsite

Storing at least one copy of your business’ data offsite can help minimize the risk of all copies of your data being wiped out due to a disaster. Consider keeping a copy of your data stored in a remote location or on the cloud to help strengthen your overall data security.

If you would like to learn more about what the 3-2-1 rule is and how it works, or if you are interested in their data backup services, please contact Next Hop Solutions at 1-855-482-5141 or by requesting a consultation on their website.