Discussion on:

Disaster recovery worst practices: Don't test your backups

That should be your primary example of why backups should always be tested. Accidental reformat of both primary and backup drives. Tape backups didnt work? Why, never know will they. They never tested.

Dan

Every ones knows that when you start a Backup running it has to be there.

I once did a job here for the Health Department before Auto Backup where available and as this was an unimportant job they had a Security Guard who had no idea of how to use a computer run the daily backup's. He was shown exactly what to do you press this button then this one push in the tape and then press this button and it will perform the backup.

I believe that it did for a few months anyway but once the Tape Drive died and the Security Guard wasn't around to hear that the drive only ran for about 5 seconds though I'm not sure that would have made any difference either they did very carefully carry these daily backup's off site and store them safely for 3 months.

Unfortunately when the server bit the dust 6 months latter there was nothing but blank tape to backup from.

Now that was a Fun job with no Data Recovery House handy and being a Government Agency I had to get permission to send the HDD's away to be recovered. Then the day that I was given permission to send away the Drives I was hit with well you've got the permission so when today will the data be installed on the Server. After all it only tool 3 weeks to get the permission and all sorts of Security issues had to be worked out between the Department and the Place Recovering the data.

Wasn't the first time that I really wanted to smack a Bureaucrat in the mouth and it wasn't the last time either but it was up there with one of the closest times that I've come to actually doing it.

There is no need to ever consider testing any backup because they just work everyone knows this without a second thought.

Personally when we use Tape I have a brand new Tested Drive identical to the one being used stored along with it's software and the backup tapes. In a worst case scenario I know that I can at least read the tapes.

Same Place different time they demanded that another 48 way managed switch be installed because they had used up all available ports and it had to be done yesterday. This was in the days when a managed switch was big and hard to carry around. When I got into the server room Sure enough it said 48 Port Switch but there where only 24 ports in use and a big plastic cover shut over half the switch. When I opened up the cover there where another 24 unused ports available so I plugged in the 1 new lead and walked out along with the new switch and went back to the office only to be hit with a complaint that I didn't install the new switch. Didn't matter that everything was working and they they could add another 23 computers they wanted another Managed Switch installed so that's exactly what I did took back the switch bolted it to a wall removed the new cable from the unused half of the old switch and then added a crossover cable between the two switches and plugged in 2 leads on one 24 Port Side of the switch.

I was then told to do as I was told by the Bureaucrats as they knew what it was that they wanted and that they could now expand all they wanted which they certainly could but to use every port they would have needed to add another 2 stories to the building.

Col

Write up the whole recovery procedure at a real 'idiots guide' level in case you're not around to carry it out.
Print it out and keep a copy offsite in case the whole building collapses on the server.