Data is the heartbeat of your business and must be safeguarded at all costs. When disaster strikes—whether due to cyber threats, system failures, or natural events—being able to recover data and systems swiftly can determine whether your company thrives or grinds to a devastating halt.
At MIS Solutions, we understand that recovery is the most critical part of any Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) plan. That’s why we’ve built a specialized test restore environment to ensure businesses can resume operations without unnecessary downtime.
Overcoming the Challenges of Test Restores
Clients periodically request a test restore of their entire cloud environment. This may be part of their annual disaster recovery assessment or in response to a cybersecurity incident. Traditionally, test environments were restored within the same hardware as the production environment, resulting in duplicate environments with identical server names. The main challenge with this process was preventing the test environment from interfering with the active production system.
MIS Solutions’ Dedicated Test Restore Environment
To eliminate these risks, MIS Solutions has developed a fully independent test restore environment that includes:
- Dedicated storage
- Isolated servers
- Independent firewall
This environment mirrors the production setup in structure and function, but operates separately, ensuring complete isolation.
Advantages of a Dedicated Restore Environment
No Disruptions to Daily Operations
During scheduled test restores, employees can continue their tasks without interruption while the environment is being replicated.
Preserving Evidence After Cyber Incidents
In the event of an actual cyber incident, the test restore environment enables businesses to resume operations while keeping the compromised system intact for forensic investigation.
Ensuring Backup Integrity
This method prevents any overlap between the production and test environments, ensuring a reliable recovery process.
Building this dedicated restore environment was a significant effort, but we recognized its necessity in delivering secure and effective disaster recovery solutions for our clients.
Backup and Disaster Recovery FAQs
A strong BDR strategy minimizes downtime, protects data, and ensures business continuity. Below are answers to common questions about MIS Solutions’ backup process.
How frequently are backups performed?
- Onsite backups: Incremental backups occur every two hours, while a full backup takes place on the last Friday of each month.
- Offsite backups: Data is transferred to an offsite location immediately after each backup, though the process is throttled during business hours to maintain optimal network performance.
How long are backups retained?
MIS Solutions maintains backups for a rolling minimum of 30 days, with the flexibility to extend retention based on client needs.
Are backups checked for integrity?
Absolutely. Each incremental and full backup undergoes thorough validation to ensure data is intact and fully restorable.
Are backups encrypted?
Yes, all backups are encrypted at rest, during transit, and while stored on disk to ensure maximum security.
Are backups image-based or file-based?
- Server backups: Image-based, capturing a full system snapshot, including applications, configurations, and data.
- Local PC backups: File-based, focusing on specific files and folders.
How does MIS Solutions protect backups from cyber threats?
We implement air-gapped backups, meaning there are no persistent connections between live environments and backup storage. Access to backed-up data requires manual intervention during the restoration process, adding an extra security layer against cyber threats.
Final Thoughts
Having a backup plan is essential, but the real test is whether you can restore data quickly and effectively when needed. MIS Solutions’ independent test restore environment ensures businesses can recover from disruptions without risk or delay.
Is your business prepared for a data loss event? Book a 15-minute discovery call with MIS Solutions to learn how our BDR services can provide you with peace of mind and robust data protection.