What You Need to Know About Server Data Recovery
Therefore, when it goes down and you lose data, it's critical to get it back up and running quickly.
Not only that, but you need to recover the jeopardized information as quickly as possible.
Studies show that up to 30% of server owners do not have a formal strategy for backing up their files and critical information.
They seem content to wait until they have a problem before implementing a solution, refusing to acknowledge that they are just one step away from disaster.
Data recovery firms see this type of reactive behaviour all the time, but taking some basic precautions can help you to circumvent the possibility of losing your most important data.
Your server can lose data for a number of possible reasons, including:
- Server Hardware Upgrades: If new hardware is not installed correctly, it can lead to corruption of files or of the firmware that controls the server itself.
The same goes for expanding the capacity of the storage array. - A Failed Array Controller: Problems with the operation of the array controller can lead to corruption of the drives on the array, which can cause your server to fail.
- Multiple Failed Drives on the Storage Array: If a single drive or multiple drives on the storage array fails for any reason, it leaves the remaining drives more vulnerable to problems - which can ultimately lead to server failure.
- Antivirus Program Deleted a File in Error: Good quality, up to date antivirus software is crucial in protecting your system and server.
On occasion, however, your antivirus program may identify a crucial file as malicious and can delete, truncate or overwrite a file in error. - Software Upgrades: Occasionally, a software upgrade can cause problems if the new software is in any way incompatible with the existing system software.
Important system files can be corrupted by competing or conflicting software.
Similarly if the system disk fails, but the data disks are still ok, you can reinstall the server after replacing the failed system disk.
However, if the data disks fail, you should focus on data recovery and try to salvage as much data as possible - without worrying about rebooting the server.
This is where you should bring in a data recovery expert.
It's very important to protect your server from such dangers as extreme temperature, humidity and impact.
Servers are sensitive pieces of equipment and even minor impacts or temperature variations can cause problems.
Prevention is always the best solution to maintaining the integrity of your data.
If you suspect that your server has a physical problem, do not try to save or try to recover the data with the data recovery software programs that are readily available to consumers.
This can actually make the problem much worse and may permanently overwrite your data.
Signs of physical damage include (but aren't limited to): unusual sounds coming from your server, a server that will not boot, and error messages that can indicate a problem with the server.
No matter what the cause of a physical problem, the best course of action is to shut your server down as quickly as possible and call in a data recovery expert who specialises in RAID server recovery.
Software problems are usually the easiest to recover from.
The most common software danger is picking up a virus.
Viruses can create all kinds of havoc within your system and can sometimes be hard to detect and even more difficult to remove.
Having a strong antivirus protection strategy is crucial to keeping your server in good working order.
Having backup for your server is crucial, and can give you peace of mind against all types of server failure.
After all, the easiest way to fix server software issues is to restore your server from a backup.
You should backup your server files on a regular basis, at least once per day.
This simple step can save you a ton of time and heartache when your server fails.
Without a recent server backup, a professional data recovery service becomes indispensable.
You can attempt to fix the server yourself, but in doing so you risk jeopardizing your most valuable information.
It's your decision, but be aware that failed attempts to restore a server make it more and more likely that your crucial data will be overwritten, making it impossible to retrieve.