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backups (programming.dev)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/programmer_humor@programming.dev
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A social media post by @brankopetric00. "A backup isn't a backup until you have successfully restored from it. Until then, it's just a very expensive file upload called 'Schrödinger's Data'."
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[–] 7 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I get it, esp. in a professional environment.

But "Schrödinger's data" rubs me the wrong way. The point OOP's making is not a question of whether the data is there or not, it's a question of whether you can restore a botched system with a few commands and in a realistic amount of time.

Case in point: I (private person, private system) never needed to fully restore, knock on wood. But the data is there - I have (manually) restored single files or directories on a few occasions.

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  • [–] 4 points 8 months ago*

    If the data is present but difficult to restore, it's annoying. You might need to spend a few days fixing stuff.

    If the data is gone, it's devastating and can bankrupt a company. On a personal level it's the same as having all your photos destroyed in a fire. And backups not containing the right data are very common.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago

    it’s a question of whether you can restore a botched system with a few commands and in a realistic amount of time.

    A few years ago my employer was the victim of randsomware. We're speaking here about a massive network and all sorts of databases and services build on top of those, spanning decades and many different technologies. Basicly several thousand employees and a decade long focus on working digital and automation. Data restoration was not an issue. I haven't heard of anyone losing data.

    However, restarting all the services was not as easy. Many of these depended on each other and there were some circular dependencies that have grown organicily over the years. Took about two months to restore core functionality (mostly SAP and email) and many more months to restore all sorts of support services that were required for normal day-to-day work. Two years after the incident the last applications were back online.

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