Module 10: Backup & Recovery

Backup and recovery capabilities represent the ultimate safety net for system administrators. This requires careful planning, regular testing, and thorough documentation to ensure organizational data remains protected. This module teaches you about backup strategies, implementation techniques, and recovery procedures that prepare you for the data protection responsibilities you’ll handle throughout your career. You’ll begin by learning to assess data criticality, establish recovery requirements, and design backup schedules that balance protection needs with resource constraints.

Backup strategy and planning receive extensive coverage as effective backup systems require more than just copying files. You’ll learn to identify critical data, establish Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO), and design backup retention policies that meet organizational requirements while managing storage costs. The module emphasizes the importance of testing backup procedures regularly and maintaining documentation that enables successful recovery under pressure.

File-level backup tools provide you with practical experience with both traditional utilities like tar and rsync, and modern backup solutions designed for enterprise environments. You’ll learn to create efficient incremental backup strategies, optimize backup performance for large datasets, and implement verification procedures that ensure backup integrity.

System-level backup and imaging techniques teach you to handle complete system recovery scenarios including bare-metal restoration and system cloning. Database and application backup addresses specialized requirements of applications that require consistent backup procedures. Recovery planning and testing conclude the module with emphasis on procedures and documentation that make backup systems effective during actual emergencies.