The 3-2-1 Backup Rule: The Golden Standard of Data Protection

Data loss is the single biggest threat to business continuity. Whether it's a ransomware attack, a hardware failure, or a simple accidental deletion, the result is the same: operations grind to a halt.

At ACE IT Solutions, we adhere to the 3-2-1 Backup Rule. It is a time-tested methodology that ensures your data survives almost any catastrophe.

The Formula

3 Copies of Your Data

You should always have at least three distinct copies of your data:

1. Production Data: The live files you work on every day.
2. Backup Copy 1: A local backup for fast recovery.
3. Backup Copy 2: An off-site backup for disaster resilience.

2 Different Media Types

Don't keep your backups on the same drive as your data. If that drive fails, you lose everything.

• Media 1: Your server's heavy-duty SAS drives (Production).
• Media 2: A dedicated NAS (Network Attached Storage) device or high-capacity Tape Drive.

1 Copy Off-Site

This is the most critical step. If your office building burns down, floods, or is robbed, your local backups are gone too.

• The Solution: Cloud Replication. We automatically encrypt and stream your backup data to a secure Canadian data center every night.

Why "Sync" is Not "Backup"

Many business owners believe that OneDrive or Dropbox is a backup. It is not. File Sync solutions replicate changes immediately.

• Scenario: A virus encrypts your local Excel file.
• Result: OneDrive "helpfully" syncs that encrypted file to the cloud immediately, overwriting the good copy.

A true backup allows you to go back in time (Versioning) to restore the file as it existed yesterday at 5:00 PM.

Testing: The Forgotten Step

A backup is only a rumour until it is restored. We perform monthly "Test Restores" for our clients—actually spinning up their servers in a sandbox environment to prove that the data is readable and the applications launch.

Don't gamble with your livelihood. Contact ACE IT Solutions to implement a verifiable 3-2-1 strategy today.