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Immutable backups refer to backup files that are secured against modifications, deletions, or encryption for a specific period of time. This ensures data is protected from accidental deletion, tampering, and cyberattacks such as ransomware.
RecoveryManager Plus supports immutability for backup files stored in compatible cloud storage repositories. This feature secures backup data against modifications, deletions, or encryption, protecting it from accidental deletion, tampering, and cyberattacks like ransomware. Organizations can implement this protection in RecoveryManager Plus through supported cloud storage services that offer immutable backup capabilities.
Why are immutable backup solutions important?
Immutable backups have become essential in data protection strategies for several reasons:
- Data integrity: Immutable backups help prevent unintentional or intentional modifications to back up data, ensuring the integrity of the backup.
- Prevent ransomware: Immutable backups prevent data from being encrypted by ransomware, providing a dependable data source that remains unaltered to recover quickly from disasters.
- Compliance: For organizations in highly regulated industries, immutability ensures that data cannot be tampered with, helping meet regulatory compliance standards like HIPAA, PCI DSS, the GDPR, and SOX.
- Data management: With immutable backups, organizations can streamline data management by preventing the need for redundant storage and reducing storage costs.
- Efficiency: Immutable backups enable faster recovery times as backups in immutable storage require minimal integrity checks, optimizing both performance and operational efficiency.
- Scalability: Immutable backups allow organizations to extend their protection as data volumes expand without compromising on security or performance.
Immutability in RecoveryManager Plus
RecoveryManager Plus allows you to store store backups in cloud repositories that offer backup immutability. This ensures backup data remains secure, unaltered, and protected against threats like ransomware.
- Azure Blob Storage: Azure Blob Storage supports immutability by storing data in a Write Once, Ready Many (WORM) state. It provides two types of immutability policies: time-based retention policies and legal hold policies.
- Amazon S3: Amazon S3 Object Lock offers object-level immutability through retention periods and legal holds. With S3 Versioning, Object Lock enforces a WORM model to ensure the integrity of immutable backup's data.
- Wasabi Cloud Storage: Wasabi offers two immutability options: S3 Object Lock and Bucket Lock. S3 Object Lock enforces immutability at the individual file level, while Bucket Lock implements stringent access controls, versioning policies, and retention periods for data at the bucket level.
Drawbacks of immutable backups
While immutable backups offer strong protection, there are a few drawbacks to consider:
- Higher storage costs: Immutable backups require additional storage to retain backups, as they cannot be overwritten or deleted until the retention policy expires, increasing storage costs.
- Complexity in data management: Managing backups with large volumes can be challenging. The recovery processes may also be complex due to the need to restore entire backup sets, leading to longer recovery times.
- Configuration complexity: Setting immutability for backups requires precise configuration. Adjustments to policies may also lead to potential compliance challenges and increased storage requirements.
- Limited flexibility: The inability to modify backups for a specified duration might limit adaptability in certain disaster recovery scenarios.
Note: Refer to the limitations of immutability article to learn about the functionalities that will not be supported when immutability is configured in RecoveryManager Plus.