Point-in-Time Recovery

Point-in-Time Recovery is the restoration of data to a defined earlier point in time. Instead of merely restoring the most recent backup, a suitable recovery point can be selected that lies immediately before an erroneous change, a deletion or a security incident.

The technical implementation depends on the respective system and its backup mechanisms. Possible approaches include time-staggered snapshots, versioned backups or continuously captured change information. How precisely a point in time can be hit is determined by backup intervals, retention and the available recovery mechanisms. Point-in-time recovery is thus directly related to the data loss an organization can tolerate, as defined by its recovery point objective.

For a successful restart, not only the existence of a recovery point should be checked, but also its actual usability. Regular tests in Business Continuity Management and structured Data Management help to keep suitable recovery points reliably available.