Microsoft 365 is the university’s chosen backup method for day-to-day working files, project files, email, etc. What does it mean to back up files to the cloud? Is my data safe there?
What is the “cloud”? The “cloud” is simply a computer that you don’t have physical access to.
The 365 Cloud
In the case of Microsoft 365, “the cloud” is comprised of many computers working together to form a file repository. These computers contain redundancies within themselves: if a hard drive fails, it is replaced by a new drive. The computer then looks at the other hard drives and performs calculations to figure out what was on the failed hard drive and automatically reconstructs the data. This setup is named RAID (redundant array of independent disks). In the enterprise world, RAID arrays can suffer multiple disk failures without losing data.
The RAIDs described above receive instructions from “controllers”. These are the brains of the whole operation. The controller computers themselves operate in redundancies. If one of the brains go offline, there are other brains already up and running to take their place.
The controllers and arrays above make up what is known as a “data center”. Computers, and sometimes the entirety of the data center, are duplicated to secondary data centers to add geographic redundancy. This can be repeated to create a network across the country.
We have a contractual agreement that states UConn data must remain physically in the United States.
Summary:
The cloud is actually a group of computers
Each computer contains many redundant hard drives
Each computer has a direct, redundant controller.
The building holding these systems has redundant buildings across the country.
What does this mean for me?
All users should save their data to a cloud location. This protects your data from physical damage to your computer, but also allows you to access your data on multiple computers and collaborate in real-time.
If your computer catches on fire, your files are safe if they’re backed up to a cloud.
Your computer should never hold a sole copy of any data.
User-facing protections
All users and SharePoint sites have a 93 day recycle bin. There is also the mysterious “second-stage recycle bin”. Visit this guide to learn more: Recover Deleted Folders/Files from OneDrive or Recover Deleted Folders/Files from SharePoint
All files have a “Version History” that allow users to jump back in time and view files as they were at different points in time. Visit this guide to learn more: Version History for Files in OneDrive or Version History for Files in SharePoint
Similar to Version History, users can restore their entire OneDrive or SharePoint to a previous point in time. Visit this guide to learn more: Restore OneDrive or Restore SharePoint Document Library