Why three copies?
Backups fail. Drives fail. Storage gets corrupted. Three copies means even if two go bad, you still recover. In practice we recommend 3-2-1-1-0: three copies, two media, one offsite, one immutable, with zero errors in test restores.
Does the cloud count as offsite?
Yes, if the cloud is in a separate Canadian data centre from your production environment. We typically replicate local backups to a Canadian data centre to satisfy the offsite leg.
Is 3-2-1 enough for ransomware?
Modern 3-2-1 needs immutability. If backups can be deleted or encrypted by a compromised admin account, the rule fails. North Star uses immutable retention as standard.
How often do you test restores?
North Star tests restores quarterly for every protected workload, with documented results. A backup that has never been restored is a guess.
Quick answers.
What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?
Three copies of your data, on two different types of media, with one copy offsite. It is the minimum backup design for any business that cannot afford to lose data.
Why three copies?
Backups fail. Drives fail. Storage gets corrupted. Three copies means even if two go bad, you still recover. In practice we recommend 3-2-1-1-0: three copies, two media, one offsite, one immutable, with zero errors in test restores.
Does the cloud count as offsite?
Yes, if the cloud is in a separate Canadian data centre from your production environment. We typically replicate local backups to a Canadian data centre to satisfy the offsite leg.
Is 3-2-1 enough for ransomware?
Modern 3-2-1 needs immutability. If backups can be deleted or encrypted by a compromised admin account, the rule fails. North Star uses immutable retention as standard.
How often do you test restores?
North Star tests restores quarterly for every protected workload, with documented results. A backup that has never been restored is a guess.
Have a specific situation in mind?
Book a free 30-minute scoping call with a Northstar IT engineer. We will walk through your environment, your questions, and what good looks like for your team.
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