Who

These are questions to consider when you are deciding who should be doing certain tasks:

• Who determines what files and computers will be backed up, and how will the policy be published?
• Who is responsible for doing the backup? Is this responsibility formally part of their job description?
• To whom is the success or failure of the backup reported?
• If the designated backup operator(s) are unavailable, who is the alternate?
• How are users notified if the backup fails?
• If the backup takes place unattended, but in a location that has off-shift personnel, are they trained to monitor the backup?
• Should they intervene in case of failure?
• Who do they notify of a problem?
• What is the process they should follow?
• Do they have some way to contact the responsible individual(s)?
• Are these individuals required to be available by telephone or wear pagers?
• If trained personnel are to monitor the backup, how are they scheduled for the next day?
• Is there coverage for their other duties if there are problems with doing the backup, or they need to do a lengthy restore?
• During vacations, sickness, or other absences, who will do the backup?
• If a backup fails because of a hardware problem, who is the contact point with the vendor or manufacturer?
• If the backup fails because of software problems, who do you contact?

When

You also need to consider when and how often the backups should take place:

• If you want to back up as many files as possible, the backup will probably occur after-hours. Will this be true only for full backups or all backups?
• How often do you do full backups and incremental backups?
• At what time should the backup occur, immediately after hours or before business hours early the next day?
• If the backup fails because of hardware problems, is there standby hardware, or can a loaner be obtained from the vendor?
• Will the vendor guarantee availability of a loaner?
• How long will it take to replace the failed hardware?
• Is the vendor’s technical support available at all times?
• Is software technical support available at all times?
• Do you have a configuration book that contains information about the computers running Windows Server that any technical support person might need?
• If not, how long will it take to create this information when you have a problem?
• What are the policies of the hardware or software vendor concerning fixes and how long they might take?
• How long will it take to retrieve the backups or copies from a local or remote storage area?
• Can the remote copies be obtained at any time or only during business hours?
• How long will it take to do a full restore if the computer totally fails?

Where

Where you do the backups and where you store the backup media are also important questions:

• Is the backup taking place in a secure area?
• If so, how is it monitored?
• Where are the backup tapes stored?
• Is the storage location secure?
• Is it fireproof, waterproof, and otherwise protected from disasters?
• Are the tapes that are stored on site accessible at all times to the people who might need them?
• Are there copies, and where are they stored?
• Is the offsite location secure?
• Is it fireproof, waterproof, and otherwise protected from disasters?
• Is it bonded?
• Will the backup be done to a local tape drive, remotely over the LAN, or remotely over the WAN?
• How is the connection verified before the backup begins?
• How are computers equipped for power outages if operators are not present and backups are taking place?

What

You need to decide what to back up:

• What is the backup plan?
• Are all modified files to be backed up, or will there be a policy regarding specific users, groups, departments, divisions, or company-critical files?
• Will there be disks or volumes on the computer running Windows Server that are not backed up?
• Will users be responsible for backup of their individual client systems?
• Will there be a chargeback system for the amount of storage used?

How

You also need to determine how you will do the backups and how to determine if backups work correctly:

• How is the backup process certified?
• Has every option that you expect to use been tested?
• Do the scripts work?
• Do the logs get created and are they correct?
• If the path is long, the filename odd, the file size very large, or the number of files is large, does the backup still work? Can you restore files that have these chacteristics?
• How is the backup started: from the command line, an icon, or by batch?
• Do these methods all work the same?
• If you schedule your backups, do they occur as scheduled?
• Is the tape actually verifying the data?
• Does a test restore work?
• Does the system have to be in a certain condition before the backup starts?
• What is the typical or expected state of the system before, during, and after the backup?
• What is the actual condition?
• Are there any unforeseen behaviors?
• When you make changes to the operating system (such as installing a service pack), or the backup program, do you recertify the backup/restore process?
• If you make hardware changes on the computer, such as installing a new controller or tape drive, or changing the BIOS on the motherboard, do you re-certify the backup/restore process?
• How do you certify that you can use your old tapes when you have changed hardware of software involved in the backup?

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