Backup & Disaster Recovery
For over fifteen years, MANAGED SERVER SRL has been committed to ensuring that the security and availability of our customers' data are of primary importance. We are aware that the data managed does not simply represent figures and information, but is a real corporate value that reflects the trust and dedication of the people who choose our hosting and system management services.
Recognizing the critical importance of protecting these values, we have implemented robust company policies that protect not only our customers but also the integrity and security of the data hosted on our servers. Below, we detail the pillars of our Backup & Disaster Recovery strategy.
Recognizing the critical importance of protecting these values, we have implemented robust company policies that protect not only our customers but also the integrity and security of the data hosted on our servers. Below, we detail the pillars of our Backup & Disaster Recovery strategy.
Server with storage in RAID1
All the servers we rent are configured in RAID1. This setup is essential to prevent any downtime caused by hardware failures, such as broken SATA, SSD or NVMe disks. The RAID1 configuration means that every bit of data is duplicated on two separate disks. This not only improves data security, but also access speed, as reading can occur from both disks at the same time, thus reducing the load on each disk and increasing overall system performance.
Dual Copy Backup on Dual Geographic SAN
We implement a rigorous daily backup procedure that leverages two independent Storage Area Networks (SANs), located in Germany and Finland, both in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These backups are created using two different enterprise software technologies, Borg and Restic. Adopting different software solutions minimizes the risks associated with software bugs that could render backups unusable. Borg and Restic are known for their efficiency and ability to perform compressed and incremental backups using the advanced ZSTD (Zstandard) compression algorithm, thus optimizing storage space and transfer times.
Encrypted backups in Append Only mode
As part of our Backup & Disaster Recovery solutions, great emphasis is placed on data security through the implementation of encrypted backups in “Append Only” mode. This approach ensures that data cannot be altered or deleted once it has been written to the backup. Encryption is applied both at the storage level, ensuring data protection at rest, and during transfer, using compressed public key cryptography methods. This means that the data is encrypted before leaving the server and remains encrypted throughout the transmission and storage process, making it inaccessible to anyone without the appropriate decryption keys.
“Append Only” mode is particularly advantageous in data breach scenarios. In such circumstances, if an attacker gains access to the system, he will not be able to delete or modify existing backups. This method is essential to ensure that, even in the event of a malicious incursion, data history remains intact and secure, allowing full recovery to a secure previous state. Our strategy aims to offer the highest degree of integrity and security, protecting critical business data from any external attempt at manipulation or destruction.
“Append Only” mode is particularly advantageous in data breach scenarios. In such circumstances, if an attacker gains access to the system, he will not be able to delete or modify existing backups. This method is essential to ensure that, even in the event of a malicious incursion, data history remains intact and secure, allowing full recovery to a secure previous state. Our strategy aims to offer the highest degree of integrity and security, protecting critical business data from any external attempt at manipulation or destruction.
Redundant Geographic SANs in RAID 6 on FS XFS
Our SANs, pillars of our backup architecture, are based on Enterprise Linux systems, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and are configured with four disks in RAID 6. This specific RAID configuration allows us to tolerate the failure of two disks simultaneously without any data loss. This unparalleled resilience and reliability ensures operational continuity even in the most critical situations, avoiding interruptions and protecting our customers' data from possible disaster scenarios.
The use of the XFS file system, known for its high performance and reliability, is another fundamental piece of our infrastructure. Optimized to handle large volumes of data and intensive workloads, XFS supports data integrity at the file system level, reducing the likelihood of data corruption and improving data recovery efficiency.
To further increase security and redundancy, we implement independent backup technologies on each of the two SANs. This technological separation reduces the risk that any software-specific vulnerabilities could affect both systems at the same time. Thanks to these measures, the likelihood of a total data loss becomes extremely unlikely, thus giving our customers complete peace of mind in knowing that their data is managed with the highest level of security and robustness possible.
The use of the XFS file system, known for its high performance and reliability, is another fundamental piece of our infrastructure. Optimized to handle large volumes of data and intensive workloads, XFS supports data integrity at the file system level, reducing the likelihood of data corruption and improving data recovery efficiency.
To further increase security and redundancy, we implement independent backup technologies on each of the two SANs. This technological separation reduces the risk that any software-specific vulnerabilities could affect both systems at the same time. Thanks to these measures, the likelihood of a total data loss becomes extremely unlikely, thus giving our customers complete peace of mind in knowing that their data is managed with the highest level of security and robustness possible.
Minimum Data Retention of 60 Days
Our Data Retention policy is designed to ensure that all backups are retained for a minimum period of 60 days. This interval not only complies with current data retention regulations, but also offers a number of significant strategic benefits for business continuity and risk management.
An extended retention window like ours offers unprecedented flexibility in data recovery, allowing companies to access previous backups at any point during that time frame. This is critical in disaster or data corruption situations, where the ability to return to a specific point in time before the incident can be crucial to restoring operations without significant loss.
Furthermore, a prolonged data retention policy is particularly valuable in legal or compliance contexts. In scenarios of legal challenges, audits or regulatory inspections, having the ability to retrieve historical data can make the difference in demonstrating compliance with laws or defending company practices. This data can provide vital evidence or insights that support the company's legal position or adequately document past activities as required by regulators or business partners.
An extended retention window like ours offers unprecedented flexibility in data recovery, allowing companies to access previous backups at any point during that time frame. This is critical in disaster or data corruption situations, where the ability to return to a specific point in time before the incident can be crucial to restoring operations without significant loss.
Furthermore, a prolonged data retention policy is particularly valuable in legal or compliance contexts. In scenarios of legal challenges, audits or regulatory inspections, having the ability to retrieve historical data can make the difference in demonstrating compliance with laws or defending company practices. This data can provide vital evidence or insights that support the company's legal position or adequately document past activities as required by regulators or business partners.
High-performance and intact MySQL backups
As part of our commitment to optimal performance and security, managing MySQL database backups is a key priority. We use Percona XtraBackup, an advanced tool that stands out for its ability to perform backups up to 95% faster than traditional MySQLdump. This remarkable efficiency significantly shortens the backup window, minimizing the impact on system performance during data rescue operations.
Percona These principles are fundamental to ensuring that each backup reflects a consistent state of the database, without risk of corruption or anomalies. ACID compliance means that backups are performed atomically, maintaining data consistency, isolating transactions during the backup process, and ensuring durability once completed.
The implementation of Percona This capability is vital for high-availability environments and mission-critical applications, where every second of downtime can result in significant operational costs or data loss.
Additionally, Percona XtraBackup supports both full and incremental backups, allowing for greater flexibility in planning and optimizing storage space. Incremental backups are particularly useful as they allow you to save only the changes that have occurred since the last full or incremental backup, further reducing the time and resources needed.
With these capabilities, we ensure that MySQL database backups are not only high-performance and efficient, but also extremely secure and reliable, meeting ongoing business and data recovery needs in every scenario.
Percona These principles are fundamental to ensuring that each backup reflects a consistent state of the database, without risk of corruption or anomalies. ACID compliance means that backups are performed atomically, maintaining data consistency, isolating transactions during the backup process, and ensuring durability once completed.
The implementation of Percona This capability is vital for high-availability environments and mission-critical applications, where every second of downtime can result in significant operational costs or data loss.
Additionally, Percona XtraBackup supports both full and incremental backups, allowing for greater flexibility in planning and optimizing storage space. Incremental backups are particularly useful as they allow you to save only the changes that have occurred since the last full or incremental backup, further reducing the time and resources needed.
With these capabilities, we ensure that MySQL database backups are not only high-performance and efficient, but also extremely secure and reliable, meeting ongoing business and data recovery needs in every scenario.