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- Backup Considerations
- How Will You Verify That the Backups Are Good?
- Which Databases Should You Back Up?
- Where Should You Back Up Your Databases?
- How Often Should You Back Up Your Databases?
- How Long Should You Keep Your Backups?
- How Long Will It Take to Recover a Backup?
- Do You Have a Disaster Recovery Plan?
- Miscellaneous Tape Considerations
- About this Article
How Long Should You Keep Your Backups?
You might not need some backups as soon as you take the next one. It's usually a good idea, however, to have a few around in case one of the previous backups is found to be corrupt. Many sites choose to maintain the last two weeks' worth of backups as an arbitrary retention period. You might also maintain data for legal requirements, such as tax data needing several years of backups. You should investigate these requirements before determining your backup retention policies. The last thing in the world you want is to be criminally culpable for not storing backups long enough.