The 3-2-1 Backup Rule: A Simple Recipe
Michał Nowak, Specjalista ds. Backupu,
One rule that turns a drive failure from a disaster into a non-event
One rule that turns a drive failure from a disaster into a non-event
One rule that saves companies
The most common cause of data loss isn't a sophisticated hacker attack — it's an ordinary drive failure, an accidentally deleted file, or a flooded server room. The 3-2-1 rule is a simple recipe that has proven itself for years.
What does 3-2-1 mean?
- 3 copies of data — the original plus two backups
- 2 different types of media — e.g. a local NAS drive and the cloud, so a single hardware failure can't destroy everything at once
- 1 copy off-site — in case of fire, flooding, or theft
A backup nobody ever tested isn't a backup
We've seen companies that made backups for years, only to discover during an actual failure that the files were corrupted, or that the password to the archive left the company along with the employee who knew it. That's why every backup we manage is:
- Encrypted with AES-GCM , with a random initialization vector for every copy
- Tested regularly through trial restores
- Monitored — if a backup job fails, we get notified immediately, not after the fact
The peace of mind that your data will come back even after the worst failure is worth far more than the cost of the backup itself.
Find out whether your company has a real backup, or just an illusion of safety.