Introducing The “3–2–1 Data Backup” Rule To Photographers
Photographers can benefit from best practices coming from corporate enterprise IT. One of the most important tasks is data backup and recovery. Big companies backup voluminous amounts of data for archiving and on-demand retrieval, with their own policy of data retention. Photographers could adopt such practices to safeguard and protect their images.
The technique that covers protecting data is called the “3–2–1 Rule”. This states the following:
3 backup copies, 2 types of storage and 1 off-site copy
Let’s say a company has important data stored in a database server and several folders on a file server. The company administrator wants to make a backup using the 3–2–1 Rule. The first thing they would have to do is make 3 backup copies of the data. For redundancy, the recommendation is to use 2 different media for storage. Finally, make an offline copy of the data.
Backup Strategy
Backing up data is basically just copying it to have another version of a file. The original still exists, while a copy of it is made during the backup. The idea of having three copies may sound like overkill, but IRL (“In Real Life”) you are best off having multiple copies of your data. This is a form of redundancy that can guarantee that there is at least 2 or more sources available in case of an accidental delete or file corruption. It is actually better to have more than 3 copies to further increase the chances of recovery, though the cost of storage does increase with more copies. It is either that or losing your data, which can cost a company its business. That is even worse than paying for additional storage costs.
The use of two different storage types is also for redundancy. Often a company may just use one backup media, which is usually to a tape drive. Linear magnetic tape media are the oldest type of backup storage. They were meant specifically for archiving large amounts of data, and thus are not fast read/write devices. The data is often rotated on large capacity (>1 TB) tape drives based on weekly and monthly backup policies. Once the data is considered old, based on the policy, it can be overwritten. The other type of media used are hard disk drives (HDD) and newer solid-state drives (SSD), using either a SAN or NAS devices. An offline copy to any media device (hard disk, SSD or tape) can be made and stored in a safe or given to a data security provider for physical storage.
The previous steps assume on premise data backup only. In the 3–2–1 Rule, the last rule recommends 1 off-site copy. This is mainly for emergency purposes. If the on premise data backup fails or is damaged, having an offline copy that is also off-site allows for the data to be recovered. The best off-site backup location is a server on the cloud. There are various types of storage-as-a-service platforms for both individual and corporate backups. They are generally just hard drives connected to the Internet. Some providers also have magnetic tape storage available for making off-site backups.
3–2–1 For Photographers
While the 3–2–1 Rule was developed for IT operations in large networks, photographers can still adopt these techniques for their own backup. Most corporate backup solutions are expensive, but you are paying for peace of mind and the reputation of your business. Professional photographers actually fall along the lines of a legit business when the amount of data far surpasses a single hard drive. These are the photographers who should invest in a backup solution for safeguarding their business data.
Photographers are not all the same when it comes to post workflow. Some still follow an analog post processing workflow that involves film. This is not applicable to that, unless the photos are digitized for storage. Most photographers do have a digital workflow, but don’t specifically include a backup strategy for data protection and recovery. This is where the 3–2–1 Rule can play a vital role.
A photographer who has a digital workflow would have other data besides their photos for backup. Other types of important data include video files, documents (contracts, releases, MOA, invoices, receipts, work orders, etc.) presets, LUTS, LR catalogs, thumbnails and different file versions. One type of data that is very important from a photoshoot are the RAW files from camera. They are huge in size, but very important to keep the original information and metadata from the photos available. These would require backup, but more for archiving. In this case a photographer can backup the older RAW files to a tape drive to create an archive. They can be recovered later on so long as an archive exists.
Most photographers use an external hard disk drive or SSD for storing their photos. The problem is that having just one copy of these files, including the RAW and retouched image, provides no redundancy in the event of a catastrophe. No one can predict when catastrophe will occur, so it is best to have another copy of the file. An affordable solution is to use a NAS or network attached storage device. This is like mounting a hard drive or SSD over the local network. There are now Wi-Fi supported NAS as well, making interconnectivity much easier for non-technical photographers to setup.
Creating The Backup Solution
Here is a brief description of a 3–2–1 Rule Backup Plan.
3 Copies — Make copies of photos and other files (including invoices, documents, proposals and other files related to business). The originals can be stored on a local hard drive on the photographers main computer. The other two copies can be put on an external hard drive and to a NAS.
Remember 3 copies is just a recommendation. IRL, making more than 3 copies may seem too much, but redundancy is key to a successful recovery. There are best practice backup policies that make backups of the backup as well using three different backup techniques (full, incremental, differential). That would be a total of 6 copies.
It is best to use backup software which can compress and encrypt the data. That is more security and protection, but it does come at a higher cost (for the software and license). Certain operating systems also provide backup software. If you are using Windows 10, there is the Backup and Restore feature. Mac users can use Time Machine. Other than that, the simplest and least cost method is just to make a copy of the original files.
2 Storage Types — Use a combination of hard drive (or SSD) with a tape drive. You don’t really need to use a tape drive if you prefer another hard drive or SSD. The more copies you make using different storage types, the more the redundancy, the better your chances at data recovery.
Photographers could use just external hard drives for all there backup storage. However, the limitation is the capacity. The benefits of a NAS are their high capacity support using just one device. That could be more convenient in the long run, which would replace having multiple external hard drives.
1 Off-site Copy — Make a backup copy (at least 1) to an off-site location. Examples include the cloud or specialized physical media storage providers. For the cloud, all that is required is an account (paid subscription or limited free space) and the files can be uploaded over the Internet. Microsoft One Drive, AWS, Dropbox, Adobe Creative Cloud and Google Drive are examples of cloud storage providers. For physical media, this is usually a tape drive that a provider will physically store in a vault for a certain fee. Ideal candidates for off-site storage are files that are infrequently used, like archives of RAW, post and video files.
Storing over the cloud can be faster and more convenient when it comes to data recovery. This is because the file is stored as is and can be downloaded immediately. Physical off-site storage is much less convenient and can take more time for recovery. This is because data backup on tape drives are compressed and are linear, not random access in nature. It takes more time to have the provider deliver the tape media from the vault and then restore the data from tape. The good thing about this is the security of having your data available in case something happens to the on premise data backup. Office fires, earthquake damage and even backup system failure can occur. Having an off-site copy can help recover any lost data due to those circumstances.
Have Peace Of Mind
The most important reason for making backups, PEACE OF MIND. Often times, professional photographers who do commercial work just dump their files (RAW and retouched) into a hard drive without an extra copy. If that hard drive unexpectedly dies or is damaged due to an accident, that can cost the photographer a lot of work. Having some form of redundancy is needed to make sure that data can be protected and most importantly recovered.
NOTE: RAID was not discussed in this article because it is more for Fault Tolerance. The primary focus here is data backup and recovery.
