{"id":272,"date":"2025-11-27T14:03:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T19:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=272"},"modified":"2026-03-01T23:15:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T04:15:38","slug":"back-up-your-data","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/chapter\/back-up-your-data\/","title":{"raw":"Back Up Your Data","rendered":"Back Up Your Data"},"content":{"raw":"<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/chapter\/select-appropriate-software-and-computing-solutions\/\">Previous Lesson<\/a><\/h4>\r\n<h4>Lesson 12 of 18<\/h4>\r\n<h3>Having backup copies of your data helps protect you from data loss (i.e., in the event of a power failure, hardware failure, virus, hacking, or human error).<\/h3>\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\nHaving geographically distributed copies of your data can also provide a measure of protection from risks that are geographically bounded (e.g., a break-in at your lab, a natural disaster).\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3><strong>A useful general recommendation for backups is the 3-2-1 rule:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Have at least 3 copies of your data.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Have your data in at least two different locations (i.e., local and off-site copies)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Use more than one type of storage media<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>View on YouTube:<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.embedly.com\/widgets\/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F_F_r56dkq2I%3Ffeature%3Doembed&amp;display_name=YouTube&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_F_r56dkq2I&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F_F_r56dkq2I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=40cb30655a7f4a46adaaf18efb05db21&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube\">Data Management: The 3-2-1 Rule<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h3><strong>When planning how to back up your data consider the following:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>How often does your data need to be backed up (i.e., daily, weekly, monthly)?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Will you keep full copies or only changes since the last backup?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How long to retain backup copies?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How much storage space do you require to maintain your backup schedule?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How do you secure the backups if the data is sensitive?<\/li>\r\n \t<li>How do you destroy the backups when they \u00a0no longer need to be retained?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n\r\nYou should periodically check your backups to ensure you can still access your data, and if you are using an automated system, that the system is working properly.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you are using a computer or storage solution maintained by your institution\u2019s IT department<\/strong>, they may have a backup system in place. You should find out if there are automated backups and whether your data would be included in those. You should also familiarize yourself with the backup schedule so you know when your data is being backed up. You may also want to consider whether you want your data included in those backups (for example, if you have a data use agreement that requires data to stay in your country of residence, you need to ensure that automated backups are not going to cloud locations in other countries).\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>If you are using cloud storage solutions<\/strong>, it is important to note that they are not necessarily a backup solution in and of themselves. Cloud systems can ensure multiple copies of your data are kept in geographically dispersed data centres to protect from natural disasters. However, if you accidentally delete your data, you are deleting it across all locations and may not be able to recover it. Ensure that you understand how the cloud system you are using works and create a system for keeping a backup copy or for taking periodic snapshots of your data in the cloud as necessary.\r\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/chapter\/secure-data-transfer-and-file-permissions\/\">Next Lesson<\/a><\/h4>","rendered":"<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/chapter\/select-appropriate-software-and-computing-solutions\/\">Previous Lesson<\/a><\/h4>\n<h4>Lesson 12 of 18<\/h4>\n<h3>Having backup copies of your data helps protect you from data loss (i.e., in the event of a power failure, hardware failure, virus, hacking, or human error).<\/h3>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p>Having geographically distributed copies of your data can also provide a measure of protection from risks that are geographically bounded (e.g., a break-in at your lab, a natural disaster).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>A useful general recommendation for backups is the 3-2-1 rule:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Have at least 3 copies of your data.<\/li>\n<li>Have your data in at least two different locations (i.e., local and off-site copies)<\/li>\n<li>Use more than one type of storage media<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox shaded\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>View on YouTube:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.embedly.com\/widgets\/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F_F_r56dkq2I%3Ffeature%3Doembed&amp;display_name=YouTube&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D_F_r56dkq2I&amp;image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F_F_r56dkq2I%2Fhqdefault.jpg&amp;key=40cb30655a7f4a46adaaf18efb05db21&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=youtube\">Data Management: The 3-2-1 Rule<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>When planning how to back up your data consider the following:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>How often does your data need to be backed up (i.e., daily, weekly, monthly)?\n<ul>\n<li>Will you keep full copies or only changes since the last backup?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>How long to retain backup copies?<\/li>\n<li>How much storage space do you require to maintain your backup schedule?<\/li>\n<li>How do you secure the backups if the data is sensitive?<\/li>\n<li>How do you destroy the backups when they \u00a0no longer need to be retained?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<p>You should periodically check your backups to ensure you can still access your data, and if you are using an automated system, that the system is working properly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are using a computer or storage solution maintained by your institution\u2019s IT department<\/strong>, they may have a backup system in place. You should find out if there are automated backups and whether your data would be included in those. You should also familiarize yourself with the backup schedule so you know when your data is being backed up. You may also want to consider whether you want your data included in those backups (for example, if you have a data use agreement that requires data to stay in your country of residence, you need to ensure that automated backups are not going to cloud locations in other countries).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are using cloud storage solutions<\/strong>, it is important to note that they are not necessarily a backup solution in and of themselves. Cloud systems can ensure multiple copies of your data are kept in geographically dispersed data centres to protect from natural disasters. However, if you accidentally delete your data, you are deleting it across all locations and may not be able to recover it. Ensure that you understand how the cloud system you are using works and create a system for keeping a backup copy or for taking periodic snapshots of your data in the cloud as necessary.<\/p>\n<h4><a href=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/chapter\/secure-data-transfer-and-file-permissions\/\">Next Lesson<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"author":2543,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-272","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":248,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2543"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":787,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/272\/revisions\/787"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/248"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/272\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/rdmoer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}