Disaster Recovery Journal Fall 2023

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Disk-based Backup Targets Up Their Game to Meet Ransomware’s Challenges

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By JEROME M. WENDT

rganizations may consider their backup prob lems solved. Having replaced tape with disk as their primary backup target over the past 20 years, they no longer view backup as a chal lenge. However, new threats have entered cor porate environments which specifically target backups hosted on disk. Disk-based backup targets still need to facili tate fast backups and optimize stored backup data. But these features only represent the base

primary backup target addressed two longstanding backup chal lenges. It shortened backup windows by reducing backup times and increased the success rate of backup jobs. Further adding to disks’ appeal, many storage providers intro duced compression and deduplication technologies into their disk based backup appliances. These two technologies helped lower disk prices. They made its cost equal to or even lower than tape. Finally, these storage providers tested and certified their target backup appliances with leading enterprise backup software solu tions. These certifications minimally ensured the backup software recognized and supported them as backup targets. Some backup software and storage providers even went the extra mile to integrate their respective products. The disk-based backup appliances may support cloud storage, data encryption, replication, and snapshots. If it did, organizations could then potentially use the backup software to manage these features on the backup appliance.

line functions these appliances must perform. Disk-based backup targets should now accommodate fast and easy storage growth, facilitate fast restores, and protect backups from ransomware attacks. Decades-old Backup Forces Still in Play Many viewed the arrival of disk-based backup appliances about 20 years ago as a godsend. Using disks in lieu of tape as a

18 DISASTER RECOVERY JOURNAL | FALL 2023