The following situation may sound all too familiar for a lot of computer users: a valuable file has been ac­ci­dent­ally deleted and there’s no backup copy. The file is now gone forever – how ir­rit­at­ing. If a lot of data is concerned, it can be dev­ast­at­ing, es­pe­cially for busi­nesses. Therefore it’s in­dis­pens­able to back up business data as well as private data.

Why it’s important to back up your databases

As integral elements of any business software, database systems play a big role when it comes to web hosting. This is due to the func­tion­al­ity of the website (and the cap­ab­il­ity of the business) relying heavily on the stored data being available.

Database-accessing website projects use different scripting languages to gather all the necessary in­form­a­tion in order to then correctly display the page. The IT in­fra­struc­ture of a business usually draws its in­form­a­tion from un­der­ly­ing databases. The data exchange also takes place in the reverse direction since users save data in the database. This means it’s not uncommon for these systems to contain personal and financial in­form­a­tion or sensitive customer data. Therefore a database error, or even a loss of data, can have serious con­sequences. It could be that the website doesn’t display the content properly or is com­pletely offline, apps don’t function anymore, and customer data is in­com­plete or, as is often the problem in the worst case scenario, non-existent. Not only does re­triev­ing this data prove to be a sig­ni­fic­ant hassle, it also agitates customers, which could lead to a loss of trust.

The cause for data loss is usually not an outsider attack, but rather a technical hardware failure or simply user error. Even the best security software won’t be of much help. Therefore a data backup is re­com­men­ded so that data loss isn’t ir­re­vers­ible.

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Options for backing up a database

In order to prevent data loss, you should create backup copies of the database on an external storage device. Having these copies allows you to recover the database beginning from the moment of the initial data backup. There are dif­fer­ences between online and offline backups: online backups are created without having to shut down the database. During the security process, the database records the un­der­taken changes in a separate area and adds them to the relevant file at the end of the process. If you shut it down during the backup, this is an offline backup. This data backup technique has the advantage of being re­l­at­ively easy to perform, but it also means that the ap­plic­a­tions or websites won’t be available during the course of the backup process. If possible, it makes more sense to perform an offline backup during the night when there is less data traffic.

Regarding the breakdown of online and offline backups: they can be split into the following three types depending on the way the data is trans­ferred:

  • Full backup: Just as the name suggests, this type of data backup transfers all the stored data. This means that lots of room is required for frequent backups. In cases where one par­tic­u­lar data set is lost and needs to be restored, only the cor­res­pond­ing full backup is needed.
  • Dif­fer­en­tial backup: When it comes to a dif­fer­en­tial backup, a full backup first needs to be created. It then differs from a full backup in that only the files that have been changed or added since the last backup are saved. So unlike full backups, storage space is spared. With each dif­fer­en­tial backup modified and new files are copied until the next full backup. A suc­cess­ful full recovery of lost data therefore requires two things with this method: the last full backup, and the desired re­spect­ive dif­fer­en­tial backup.
  • In­cre­ment­al backup: For an in­cre­ment­al backup, only the files that have been modified or added since the last backup are copied following a complete backup. Unlike the dif­fer­en­tial methods, an in­cre­ment­al backup refers to the previous backup (both full backup and in­cre­ment­al backup). Files are only saved once, which frees up some storage space. In order to recover the desired files, all the backups are needed; from most recent full backup to the desired state.

As you can see there are a few options for backing up database systems such as SQL databases or Microsoft Access. The most suitable backup method depends on the needs of the user or business. Skipping backups in order to save storage memory should never be done. External storage devices like hard drives should be kept in a separate area where they are protected from theft and fire damage. The saved data should ad­di­tion­ally be encrypted so that if it’s stolen, it can’t be used by any third parties.

How to carry out a backup

You’ve decided on a backup solution and now the next step is to decide how to implement it. There are different pos­sib­il­it­ies and tools to back up databases like a SQL database. The following list explains some of the options:

  • MySQLDump: If you have Shell access, you can work with MySQL’s in­teg­rated backup function and the ‘mysqldump’ command. Not all hosting providers allow access to this function that enables the fastest backup per­form­ance.
  • phpMy­Ad­min: This ad­min­is­tra­tion platform for SQL databases offers users the pos­sib­il­ity to easily export the desired database to their desired format e.g. SQL. It could, however, be that the PHP script gets ter­min­ated by the server if the database is too big. This kind of backup only works if the database is less than 2 MB.
  • BigDump: The BigDump tool is the perfect addition to phpMy­Ad­min since it can import large backups. It doesn’t, however, offer its own backup function.
  • HeidiSQL: The backup solution for Windows systems isn’t based on PHP and therefore doesn’t have a problem with large backups. The tool is very similar to phpMy­Ad­min, but doesn’t offer automated backups.

Database pro­tec­tion is always necessary

The saved files in databases often play a big part in the smooth execution of a business and the correct layout of websites. Web servers access the in­form­a­tion in order to present the hosted website correctly. The func­tion­al­ity of the ap­plic­a­tions in the network is often directly linked to a database. Databases also create the storage location of sensitive data such as addresses, account numbers, and telephone numbers.

Since they play such an important role, database systems should def­in­itely be protected by adequate security measures. Your data isn’t just threatened from outsider attacks, but also from internal problems such as hardware failure or user error. Regular backups prevent data loss and guarantee long-term data security.

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