Multiple power circuits with
battery backup and a generator
will only protect against power
failures. Similarly, using a
journaling filesystem and RAID
storage will only protect
against certain types of
software and hardware failure.
In
the field of
information
technology,data loss
refers to the
unforeseen loss of
data or information.
An occurrence of
data loss can be
called a Data Loss
Event and there are
several possible
root causes.
Data loss must be
distinguished from
data unavailability,
such as may arise
from a network
outage. Although the
two have
substantially
similar effects,
data unavailability
is temporary while
data loss is
permanent. Backup
and recovery schemes
are developed to
restore lost data.
Studies
have
consistently
shown
hardware
failure
and
human
error to
be two
most
common
causes
of data
loss,
accounting
for
roughly
three
quarters
of all
incidents.
A
commonly
overlooked
cause is
a
natural
disaster.
Although
the
probability
is
small,
the only
way to
recover
from
data
loss due
to a
natural
disaster
is to
store
backup
data in
a
physically
separate
location.
There is no guaranteed way to prevent data loss. However, the frequency
of data
loss
events
and
their
impact
can be
greatly
mitigated
by
taking
proper
precautions.
The
different
types of
data
loss
events
demand
different
types of
precautions.
Studies
have
consistently
shown
hardware
failure
and
human
error to
be two
most
common
causes
of data
loss,
accounting
for
roughly
three
quarters
of all
incidents.
A
commonly
overlooked
cause is
a
natural
disaster.
Although
the
probability
is
small,
the only
way to
recover
from
data
loss due
to a
natural
disaster
is to
store
backup
data in
a
physically
separate
location.