November 17, 2011, 4:40 PM — In all my years in IT, I can't think of an everyday task that is more universally loathed than maintaining good backups. Depending upon what size environment you're running, setting them up in the first place can be a massive investment in capital and manpower, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Daily monitoring and troubleshooting often end up making the initial deployment look like a walk in the park.
But it doesn't need to be that way. Backups can be almost a set-it-and-forget-it affair, although reaching that utopia requires careful planning and a solid understanding of what you want to accomplish. Here are some design tips to help you avoid the most common backup pitfalls.
Step No. 1: Set expectations
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