Understanding The Redundant Data Backup Environment In Cloud Hosting

Experts say cloud hosting is completely changing how companies perform their business operations and it is in everyone's interest to adapt to such a change. 73% of small businesses claim that cloud hosting has enabled them to reduce their costs significantly by saving expenses on building their own IT infrastructure.

The Structure of Redundant Cloud Backup Environment

A majority of small businesses also claim that cloud hosting solutions have helped them gain better control of their data. Some also assure cloud hosting of better security which is indeed essential to every business. But factually, how secure is your data with cloud hosting? To completely understand what cloud hosting solutions have to offer in terms of data backup and security, it is important for you to learn a few things about the physical security provided. The hosting environment comprises the following redundant components:

#1: Redundant Internet Connections

Cloud hosting solutions work through the internet. To ensure 99% uptime, several internet connections are made to run simultaneously. There is always a backup connection on standby which can be used when one provider performs poorly or when business operations experience continuous downtime.

#2: Redundant Power Supplies

Backup power supplies are also always on standby. This way, servers still run and continuously operate even in the event of a power outage. Diesel generators are also readily available to run the system until power is fully restored.

#3: Redundant Hardware

In addition to backup power supplies and backup internet connections, cloud hosting solutions are also powered by multiple hard drives. This is another way of ensuring that nothing falls through the crack. Downtime is kept at 1% having a whole system of support with standby hard drive and other essential components ensuring that replacements are made seamlessly in case one of the hardware components fails.

#4: Protection against Theft

To prevent instances of theft, cloud hosting data centers cannot be easily breached. Providers make an effort to ensure that authorized personnel are the only ones who gain access to such servers. They also utilize biometric measures including, but not limited to, retina scans and fingerprints. Surveillance cameras and continuous monitoring are also implemented.

#5: Protection against Fire and Flood

Data theft is not the only concern. Natural disasters such as fire and flood also present a threat to the preservation of data. In this case, cloud hosting providers perform replication in multiple data centers, most of which are situated in diverse zones that are free from the infirmities of floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters.

#6: Employment of Application Security

Cloud hosting providers also employ a great lineup of security implementations in an effort to protect your data from virus attacks and hacking. In this case, they set up firewalls, anti virus detection software, data encryption software, administrative controls and security audits to ensure that your information asset is surely secured and safeguarded.

Security audits also allow individuals to identify possible loopholes and further improve the infrastructure and applications so that bigger problems are resolved before they happen. A combination of software, electronic barriers and continuous monitoring are implemented to keep hackers and unauthorized parties at bay and prevent data from being accessed in an unauthorized manner.

Real-Time Scenario of Redundant Cloud Backup

Digital world is all about the ease of functionality. The complex interconnections at the physical level build an easy interface where backup is available just at a single click. Considering the case of a shared server provider, the drives appear as:    

This shows that service provider stores client data on one drive and backup data on another drive. In the event of any problem with one drive, the complete backup of data exists on the other drive. This screenshot represents one server. In a similar manner, there are multiple backup servers and all backup data can be restored and used through simple clicks. This not only makes functionality easy for the service provider to manage but also reduces the time involved in providing the end users with their replicated data in the event of any disaster.

Because things can go wrong, it is better to be prepared. This is the ultimate reason why cloud hosting has made it a point to set up such redundancy in the data backup environment.

By Aditi Tyagi

Aditi Tyagi, Editor-in-chief at MyRealData loves to write about QuickBooks Hosting and her keyboards spend most of the time in describing how cloud hosting is changing the way accountants and other business professionals work. When she is not writing about the ‘cloud’, she spends her leisure time reading novels.

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• License: Creative Commons image source