Some of the people think RAID is a backup solution. But it cannot be used as a backup solution. Many people are asking, “Can I use RAID as a backup?”. We know that RAID prevents data loss and improves the uptime but it is not a backup solution and there are the following reasons.
When you create a backup of data. Backup creates copies of the data so in a disaster, you can recover the data. On the other hand, RAID provides redundancy, whose main aim is to provide continuity of the data. So, in case of any short failure, you can continue with your operations. Keep that in mind to understand why RAID cannot use as a backup solution.
It Cannot Stop Malware
There are many types of malware but one type is troublesome which is ransomware. Ransomware is a virus that overwrites your files and makes you unable to access them. The main purpose to do so is to demand some ransom to get back your data. This type of virus acts fast and your anti-virus sometimes feels powerless. This type of virus attack cannot be prevented by RAID. It only keeps your system up after the attack. If you are only relying on RAID then you need to pay the price for regaining data.
Cannot Eliminate Human Error
RAID keeps your system up when hardware eventually fails. But it cannot eliminate human error. A recent study shows that 22% of data outages in a data center are caused by human error. It will still keep your system up and running but what if a human makes mistake. So, to avoid this a proper education is important for the employees.
It cannot Mitigate Onsite Disasters
Accident happens all the time. But what if a disaster happens onsite and you lose all of your backup and RAID controllers. In such cases, the only way to recover your data is from an offsite backup. That is why; many organizations have an offsite backup too. If you do not have an offsite backup then salvagedata data recovery services can help in recovering your data.
It cannot Prevent File Corruption
RAID controllers make sure that the data does not lose when hardware fails. It has data protection capabilities but it cannot prevent data corruption. But it can make things worse by replicating the corrupt files. If your data is corrupted then even a backup plan is not enough. The only solution is to make periodic backups to increase the chances of recovery.
It Has Limitation
The concept of RAID is to provide redundancy of data. On the other hand, having a backup also increases redundancy. That is why; it is recommended to make two backups onsite and offsite. So, in case of fire or any other disaster onsite, you can get your data back from the offsite location. Spreading the copies of your data across different locations provides better protection against bigger issues.