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 the occasions in which you have lost important data due to the failure of a hard disk, a USB stick or after any accident that sent your operating system or your entire computer into mush. If you are one of the lucky ones who have never had such a problem, try to imagine the consequences of a work document in delivery that suddenly – poof! – disappears due to a malfunction. These are extremely unpleasant situations, especially if your next cashout, passing an exam, and so on depend on those files. Did you get the chills? You are not alone!

Renowned photographer Peter Krogh said: “There are two types of people: those who have suffered a hard drive failure and those who will” . And believe us if we tell you that this is practically an absolute truth.

Krogh himself is the author of the Backup Overview article on the American Society of Media Photographers website, where he presents an in-depth overview of backup, but above all where he talks of the now famous 3 2 1 backup rule. The article is very long and articulated and, if you are familiar with English, we advise you to 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.

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A portable hard drive can be one of the storage media to consider for backup

Backup 3 2 1 – Definition

The 3 2 1 backup rule is an easy way to keep track of 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 the data on two (2) different types of media (such as a hard disk and optical media), in order to keep them safe from different types of dangers. One (1) of the copies must be kept offline, ideally somewhere other than your studio or wherever you keep the other two backups. A 3 2 1 storage strategy isn't always feasible. For example, having a second type of media device might not be feasible for someone in a stage where data is being processed or uploaded. In such cases, users may be better off keeping copies on hard drives only, but the three-copies-in-different-location advice still applies .

Why the 3 2 1 backup rule matters

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Of course, in the case of flooding, if one of the backup methods was a blu-ray, for example, it will probably save, at difference, maybe the hard disk that has taken on water and debris. In that case, having used a different medium could make the difference between a job gone up in smoke and one recovered and delivered without delay.

They seem like paradoxical situations, but anything can happen: a PC failure while work, or the loss of the only USB key 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 data is part of what allows you to pay bills and arrive at the end of the month , there is little to joke about and, surely, there is no room to gamble .

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 some for all needs and budgets: from products designed for home users, to solutions more oriented towards companies, with advanced security functions and other elements which, obviously, also affect the price. On the subject, we recommend reading these two guides: How to keep data safe on the NAS and How to make backups on the NAS easily. With a NAS, you will have a dedicated and protected backup space since, unlike cloud services where the data could be accessed by the providers, here the access control is much stricter and under your control.

To conclude, here is our top 3 best backup software:



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

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

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EaseUS ToDo Backup

br> EaseUS ToDo Backup offers the possibility of scheduling backups on a regular basis, while the plans themselves are divided into Home, for private users with disk image management, and Business, with the possibility of protecting company 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 than simple backup/restore.

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