Our tape backups are a pain, what's a modern offline backup?
Tape still lives at large scale and for special archives, but for SMB a combination of immutable cloud backup or a local repository with object lock is usually more practical. Key principle stays: at least one copy offline or immutable.
Try this first
- 1Inventory current strategy: which jobs go to tape, how much data, what retention, how often tested.
- 2Replace with a Veeam Hardened Repository: a Linux server with immutability via xattrs on a dedicated repository disk. Comparable to tape (write-once during the lock period).
- 3Or: Veeam to Azure Blob with Immutability Policy or Object Lock on S3 (Wasabi, Backblaze, AWS S3). Cloud-immutable backup target.
- 4Keep a copy offline or in another cloud account for an 'air gap'. Not all eggs in one basket even when immutable.
- 5Test restores quarterly: not only 'can I retrieve a file', also 'can I restore a whole VM' and 'can I run DR from this backup alone'.
When to bring us in
For legal retention (accounting 7 years, some sectors longer), tiered cloud archive (Azure Archive, S3 Glacier) is cheaper per GB for long retention than tape.
See also
- One DC or two DCs for an SMB office?Two is almost always the right answer; one DC is a single point of failure for logon, DNS and GPOs.
- Should I split FSMO roles across two DCs?For a small domain all on one DC is fine; with two DCs splitting is tidier but not required.
- How do I know my AD replication is healthy?Replication errors creep in silently; they only surface when logins or GPOs misbehave.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.