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BACK UP POLICY Page 2 of 7 TABLE OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION ... 2 2 . DEFINITIONS ... 3 3 . SCOPE ... 3 4. TIMINGS ... 4 5. DATA BACKED UP ... 4 6. EXCLUDED EXTENSIONS ... 4 7. PROCEDURES ... 5 8. TAPE STORAGE ... 6
9. TAPE DRIVE CLEANING ... 6
10. RESPONSIBILITY ... 6
11. RESTORATIONS ... 7
1. INTRODUCTION
Computer information systems and electronic data are valuable assets of the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality and a substantial investment in human and financial resources has been made to create these systems and information and, as such, a formalized policy has been implemented to:
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Safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of information contained within these systems
Ensure availability of critical data so that information can be utilized as the valuable asset. Reduce business and legal risk.
Departmental critical data and non-departmental critical data are stored on File- servers, Exchange-servers (mail-box data) and Application-servers. This data can be categorized as: Personal User data
Business Unit data Shared data Databases
Application / System data
2 .
DEFINITIONSa) Backup – is the process of copying active files from online disk to tape so that files may be restored to a disk in the event of equipment failure, damage to or loss of data.
b) Archive – is the process of moving inactive files form online disk to a tape, i.e. deleting the files from copying them, in order release online storage for reuse.
c) Restore - The process of bringing off line storage data back from the offline media and putting it on an online storage system such as a file server.
d) Mpeg (Moving Picture Experts Group)- The term also refers to the family of digital video compression standards.
e) Mpa(MPEG-2 Audio File ) Audio file type can be opened using the following programs
f) Mp3 (Moving Picture Experts Group audio layer 3):MP3, is an encoding format for digital audio which uses a form of lossy data.
g) Exe(Executable file) An executable is a file that contains a program
h) Vob (Video Object) filename extension and are typically stored in the VIDEO_TS folder at the root of a DVD
i) Wsf( Window Script File) is a file type used by the Microsoft Windows Script Host. j) Wma(Window Media Audio) is a file extension used with Windows Media Player k) Wav(Waveform Audio File Format)
3 .
SCOPEThe goal for the Information Technology Unit is to ensure that departmental data can be recovered within required and agreed business timescales.
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The Information Technology Unit is responsible for backing up File-servers, Exchange-servers and Application-servers, according to agreed cycles, and storing these backups in a secure designated area.
In addition to backing up departmental data, Information Technology Unit shall perform regular disk capacity management on all data servers and have the right to delete all non-departmental related data after consultation with involved employees.
If the disposal of old or damaged tapes is required, such tapes will be destroyed to prevent the recovery of data from the media.
Ownership of all electronic information residing on any departmental computer system vests in Bojanala Platinum District Municipality and Management may peruse, monitor and take copies of any information or communication made or received utilizing any of the aforementioned systems. Therefore, the Information Technology Unit requires that all requests to restore an employee’s user data, residing on File-servers or Exchange-servers (mail-box data), not requested by the employee or without the permission of such employee, must be authorized by a Senior Manager and may be assessed by the Manager: Information Technology Unit.
This policy defines the backup strategy for servers and data within Bojanala Platinum District Municipality.
4. TIMINGS
A grandfather -father-son rotation scheme is operated; incremental backups run overnight from Monday to Thursday (daily backup) and full back-up (i.e. weekly backup) run on Fridays are rotated on three weeks basis. One full back-up each month (i.e. Monthly backup) will be made.
5. DATA BACKED UP
a) Data to be backed up include the following:
b) Users data stored on the home directories (“My Documents”) c) System state of all servers
d) Systems to be back-up include; Exchange Information Store Active Directory
Financial Server (Pastel and Payday) Technical Services Server (T- Drive) Document server
6. EXCLUDED EXTENSIONS
a) On home directories folders (“My Documents”) not all files will be backed up; the following are extensions that will be omitted:
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Mpe g.
Mpa.
Mp3.
Exe.
Vob
Wsf.
Wma.
Wav.
7.
PROCEDURESIncremental backups will be performed daily from Monday to Thursday. The tape will be add-on with new informatiadd-on created.
A full systems and data backup will be performed weekly. Weekly backups will run on Fridays and the tapes will be rotated 3 times in the month.
Monthly backups will be made on the last Friday of each month and stored for a minimum period of 5 (five) years thereafter it will be handed to Provincial Archives and archived where required under the classification system as in use by the Northwest Provincial Government Administration. Data backup name Type of backup Scheduling of backup Time backup starts Overwrite/ append period Media set name Barcode number on tape Backup strategy Exchange Information Store Server name Mailboxes Server System state Server User home directories Server Retired user data(archiving) Miscellaneous old user data
Data backed to file and then to tapes using Ntbackup Data backup name Type of backup Scheduling of backup Time backup starts Overwrite/ap pend period Media set name Path to folder Backup strategy
BACK UP POLICY Page 6 of 7 System state Server Full Every Saturday None/none Sysvol Server Full Every Saturday System state Server Presently not backed up Weekly full Sysvol Server Full Every Saturday Weekly full DHCP Server Full Every Saturday Weekly full System state Server Full Every 2nd Saturday Weekly full System state Server Full Every 2nd Saturday Weekly full Full 8. TAPE STORAGE
All weekly and monthly tapes must be stored on the fire proof safe at other location in Rustenburg. The list as in Annexure A will be maintained that indicates the date of tape creation and the unique identification of the tape.
9. TAPE DRIVE CLEANING
Tape drive shall be cleaned monthly and the cleaning tape shall be replaced every second month.
10. RESPONSIBILITY
IT UNIT
The Information Technology Manager shall delegate a member of the Information Technology Unit to perform regular backups. The delegated person shall develop a procedure for testing backups and test the ability to restore data from backups on a monthly basis. The designated person will take weekly and monthly tapes to offsite storage.
The Employee
All business critical data on local computer and notebook hard drives must be copied or moved to a “My Documents” share on a file server, where it will be backed up. Where such an action is not possible, as in cases where it is done away from access to Bojanala Platinum District Municipality network, the data must be copied over on the first available opportunity. It will be the sole responsibility of the employee, under all circumstances, to backup and maintain security regarding personal data.
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user logon Identity, on the File-servers. The onus is on the employee to ensure that the server space allocated is utilized to the optimum.
11. RESTORATIONS
Users that need files restored must submit a request to the Information Technology Help Desk by completing the Information Technology Unit – Data Restore Request Form.
Information regarding the request where possible must include the file creation date, the name of the file, the last time it was changed, and the date and time it was deleted or destroyed.
12. POLICY REVIEW
