Server and shared drive backups: what is covered and how to ask for a restore

Many small businesses still have a server or a network storage device in the office holding shared files, an accounting database or a line-of-business application. These need their own backup, separate from Microsoft 365, and the way it is set up is written into your service agreement and your handover documents. This article explains the general approach and how to ask for a restore.

How we protect a server

Wherever we look after a server, we aim for two copies: a local backup in the office for fast restores of everyday mistakes, and a copy in the cloud, offsite, for the disasters that take the office with them. The cloud copy is kept so that ransomware on your network cannot reach it. Backups run automatically, their results are reported to our monitoring, and failed backups are followed up on the next working day. The schedule and the retention periods for your systems are in your handover documents, and the date of the last test restore is on your monthly report.

A deleted or overwritten file or folder

Email hello@bitnode.tech or call 855-248-2637 with the file or folder name, where it was, and roughly when it was last correct. If someone saved over a document, tell us the date and time of the good version if you can. A single file or folder usually comes back from the local backup within working hours. Please do not try to recreate the file in the same place while you wait, as that can make it harder to put the original back.

A whole server

If the server fails, is stolen or is encrypted by ransomware, recovery is a bigger job: new or repaired hardware, or a temporary server in the cloud, and then the restore itself, which depends on how much data there is. We give you a time estimate as soon as we have assessed the situation and keep you updated while it runs. In the meantime, data that is also in Microsoft 365 remains available, which is one reason we encourage keeping documents there.

Databases and business applications

Accounting systems and other applications store their data in databases that need to be backed up in a consistent state, not just copied as files. Where we look after these, the backup is set up with the application's own tools or with a backup system that understands the database. If you install a new business application on a server, tell us so its data can be included.

Things that are not on the server

Files saved on a computer's own drive, on USB sticks or in a personal cloud account are not part of a server backup. See What is backed up, and what is not.

Replacing a server

Many businesses no longer need a server at all once documents are in SharePoint and applications have moved to the cloud. When your server comes up for replacement, we look at that option with you and give you the cost of each over several years before you decide.