Backup 3 2 1: what it is, how it works, why it is important

Backup 3 2 1

If you are wondering: "Why on earth should I bother making a backup?", we want to invite you to think back to that time, if it ever happened to you, when you lost important data due to a hard drive failure disk, a USB key or after any accident that has sent you "in jelly" the operating system or the whole computer. If you are one of the lucky ones to have never had a problem of this type, try to imagine the consequences of a work document being delivered that suddenly - poof! - disappears due to a fault. These are extremely unpleasant situations, especially if your next cashing, passing an exam, and so on depends on those files. Did you get the chills? You are not the only ones!

The famous photographer Peter Krogh said: “There are two types of people: who has suffered a hard disk failure and who will suffer it”. And believe us when we tell you that this is a practically absolute truth.

Krogh himself is the author of the article Backup Overview on the American Society of Media Photographers website, where he presents an in-depth overview of the backup, but above all where he speaks of the now famous backup rule 3 2 1. The article is very long and detailed and, if you are familiar with English, we recommend that you consult it, especially if you are a professional and for you, backing up your data is as vital as keeping your billing and accounting in order. But the content is more than valid for any high user who wants to learn more about the techniques and the importance of making regular backups of their data.| ); }
A portable hard disk can be one of the storage media to be evaluated for backup

Backup 3 2 1 - Definition

The backup rule 3 2 1 is a simple way to keep to mind the safest way to back up your data. This rule consists of 3 points, as explained by Krogh himself:

Make three (3) copies of your most important data (one main backup copy and two extra safety copies) Keep data on two (2) different types of media (such as a hard drive and optical media), in order to keep them safe from different types of dangers. One (1) of the copies should be kept offline, ideally somewhere other than your studio or wherever you keep the other two backups. It is not always possible to adopt a storage strategy 3 2 1. For example, having a second type of media device may not be possible for those in a phase where data is being processed or loaded. In such cases, users may find it better to keep copies exclusively on hard drives, but in any case, the advice of three copies stored in different places remains valid.

Why the 3 2 1 backup rule is important

Sure, in the case of flooding, if one of the backup methods was a blu-ray, for example, it will probably save, a difference, perhaps of the hard disk that has taken water and debris on board. In that case, using a different medium could make the difference between a failed job and one recovered and delivered without delay.

These seem paradoxical situations, but anything can happen: a PC failure while work, or the loss of the only USB stick in which you kept a copy of your work (and believe us if we tell you that it happens more often than one would like), in short, if the data is part of what allows you to pay your bills and arrive at the end of the month, there is little to joke about and, of course, there is no room for gambling.

Some useful backup media 3 2 1

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Another solution you might consider is a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device. It is a real computer, complete with a dedicated operating system, designed for saving and managing files. There are something for all needs and budgets: from products designed for home users, to solutions more oriented towards companies, with advanced security functions and other elements that, of course, also affect the price. On the subject, we recommend reading these two guides: How to keep data safe on the NAS and How to backup NAS easily. With a NAS, you will have a dedicated and protected backup space, since, unlike cloud services where data may be accessible by providers, access control here is much more stringent and under your control.

Finally, here is our top 3 of the best backup software:



Acronis Cyber ​​Protect Home Office (Acronis True Image)

Protect Home Office is a solution complete with backup and synchronization that allows you to copy the backup data simultaneously to a local drive and to the cloud.

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EaseUS ToDo Backup

EaseUS ToDo Backup offers the ability to schedule backups on a regular basis, while the plans themselves are divided into Home, for private users with disk image management, and Business, with the ability to protect corporate data on Windows Server and in Exchange and SQL databases.

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Paragon Backup & Recovery (Har d Disk Manager)

Paragon Backup & Recovery is part of the company's Hard Disk Manager suite, which allows you to manage many other aspects besides simple backup / restore.

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