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SnapCenter Software 5.0
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Backup schedules

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Backup frequency (schedule type) is specified in policies; a backup schedule is specified in the resource group configuration. The most critical factor in determining a backup frequency or schedule is the rate of change for the resource and the importance of the data. You might back up a heavily used resource every hour, while you might back up a rarely used resource once a day. Other factors include the importance of the resource to your organization, your Service Level Agreement (SLA), and your Recover Point Objective (RPO).

An SLA defines the level of service expected and addresses many service-related issues, including the availability and performance of service. An RPO defines the strategy for the age of the files that must be recovered from backup storage for regular operations to resume after a failure. The SLA and RPO contribute to the data protection strategy.

Even for a heavily used resource, there is no requirement to run a full backup more than once or twice a day. For example, regular transaction log backups might be sufficient to ensure that you have the backups you need. The more often you back up your databases, the fewer transaction logs SnapCenter has to use at restore time, which can result in faster restore operations.

Backup schedules have two parts, as follows:

  • Backup frequency

    Backup frequency (how often backups are to be performed), called schedule type for some plug-ins, is part of a policy configuration. You can select hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly as the backup frequency for the policy. If you do not select any of these frequencies, then the policy created is an on-demand-only policy. You can access policies by clicking Settings > Policies.

  • Backup schedules

    Backup schedules (exactly when backups are to be performed) are part of a resource group configuration. For example, if you have a resource group that has a policy configured for weekly backups, you might configure the schedule to back up every Thursday at 10:00 PM. You can access resource group schedules by clicking Resources > Resource Groups.