Microsoft Word Hardware Reconfiguration Methodology V final2

Lifespan and storage

It is important to determine how long data should be kept. Depending on the data and its function, it may be necessary to keep it for several weeks, months, or longer. For example, legal documents by law must be kept for a prescribed period. Consider the following:

1. 
   Is the data to be kept for a short or long period? Are there any laws that mandate how long certain types of documents must be kept? What is the organizational policy concerning backup and data longevity? Is the policy the same for user data and operating system data?
   

2. 
   How long must different types of data or backups be stored? For example, is user data stored alongside operating system data? Are they stored on the same media?
   

3. 
   If the data is stored for a long period there are various storage issues and requirements to examine. For example, will the media be stored in a temperature and humidity controlled environment? Is it secure, safe from fires, floods, and tampering? Who has access to it? Will it be stored onsite or offsite?
   
4. 
   Will data be stored incrementally or differentially? This may depend on required data longevity and organizational policy. Is there a preference for incremental or differential backups? All the tools but DD can be used for incremental or differential backups. How often is a full system backup (operating system and user data) carried out with respect to incremental and/or differential backups? These answers will help to determine how much media is required.
   

5. 
   Are the users involved in helping determine the lifespan and usefulness of their data? Is there a policy in place for maintaining user data backups for set periods? For example, should users be consulted on an intermittent basis to determine if their data and storage requirements have changed?
   

6. 
   What is done with users and their data when they are no longer system users? Are the accounts destroyed and all data saved to CD or DVD or must the accounts be disabled and data stored and backed up with all the rest of the user data?
   

7. 
   How often are full backups performed? Are they incremental or differential? Once a new full backup is performed, existing incremental or differential backups could be overwritten and reused again for newer incremental or differential backups.
   

3.