guide on raid data recovery
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Data Emergency GuideIT Professional edition
RecoveryErasureMigrationForensicseDiscovery
Dat
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Table of ContentsIntroduction 3Examples of Data Emergencies 3Server Data Loss Scenarios 4Situation1:FailureofasingledriveinaRAID5server 4/5Situation2:FailureofRAID5server 5Situation3:Serverupgradegoeswrong 6Situation4:IntermittentcomponentfailureinaRAID5server 6Situation5:SQL,Oracle,DB2databasecorruption 7Situation6:“Crisisinprogress”7/8Recognising a Data Loss Situation 9 “How important is your data?” 11Data Recovery Process: What to do first? 12WhatNOTtodo 12Whattodo12/13Our Data Recovery Process 16Initialinquiryandconsultationprocess 16Therecoveryprocessstartswithafreeevaluation 16Fixingphysicalproblems 16Obtainingamirrorimage(makingacopyofthedata) 16Fixinglogicalproblems:corruptedfilesorfilesystems 17Trackingthecase 17Costsvs.value 17Economyservicefeatures 18Priorityservicefeatures 18Priorityservicestep-by-stepworkflow18/19Criticalresponseservice 19Appendix A: What is Data Recovery? 20Appendix B: What to ask before calling in a Data Recovery Service?21/22Appendix C: Case Studies on Mission-Critical Recoveries23/24Appendix D: Handling Tips & ESD Precautions 25KeybenefitsofSeagateRecoveryServices 26Whattodonext? 27
Copyright©2007.SeagateTechnologyLCC.Allrightsreserved.PrintedintheNetherlands.
Seagate,SeagateTechnologyandtheWavelogoareregisteredtrademarksofSeagateTechnologyLCC.Otherproduct
namesareeithertrademarksorregisteredtrademarksoftheirowners.
Seagatereservestherighttochange,withoutnotice,productofferingsorspecifications.May2007.
3
IntroductionThisguideisintendedtohelpyourecognise,react
appropriatelytoandresolvedatalossemergencies
involvingservers,backupsand/oranymission-critical
computersystemorITfacility.
TheData Emergency Guide:ITProfessionaledition
willbeofmostusetotechnicalsupportpersonnel,
ITmanagersandtoanyonewhoexperiencessudden
datalossfromacomputersystemorbackupwhich
hadbeenworkingupuntilthatpointorhastotake
actionafterdataisaccidentallydeletedordatacontrol
structuresareoverwritten.
Examples of data emergencies• Amulti-driveRAIDservercrashesasaresultofwhichdata
isnolongerbeingsenttothecorporatenetwork(NAS,DAS
orSANarchitectures).
• Asetofmedicalimagesstoredonadigitaltapecartridge
cannolongerberestoredtoothermedia.
• Ahardware,O/Sorapplicationsoftwareupgradefails.
• Restorefails:anattempttorecoverlostdatanotonlyfails
butrenderstheentiresystemunusable.
Adataemergencyusuallystartswithoneofthe
followingsituations:
• Itsuddenlybecomesimpossibletoaccessanydatafrom
acomputersystemorbackupwhichhadbeenworkingup
untilthatpoint.
• Dataisaccidentallydeletedordatacontrolstructures
areoverwritten.
• Databecomescorruptedorinaccessibleasaresultofdamage
tophysicalmediaoroperatingsystemproblems.
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Server data loss scenariosDatastoragesystemswhicharemaintainedproperlyaregenerally
reliable,fault-tolerantandwell-managedbyexperienced
operatorswhocarryouttheirroutinetasksefficiently.When
thesesystemsdofail,itisarareoccurrenceandoftenthe
firsttimethattheoperatorisfacedwiththesecircumstances.
Understandably,takingthenecessaryactionmaybebeyond
thetrainingandexperienceofmostofthetechnicalcommunity,
letalonetheowner/operatorordepartmentmanagerwhohas
todoubleasthesystemsadministrator.Bothmanagersand
technicians,especiallythosewithnumerousresponsibilities,may
makemistakeswheninunfamiliarterritory.Ourprofessionaldata
recoveryspecialistsdealwiththesesituationsonadailybasis
andaresuitablyqualifiedtoaddresssuchproblems.
Aproperdiagnosisoftheproblemsisthekeytosuccessful
managementofdatalossemergencies.Whoisqualifiedto
diagnoseyoursituation?Didyouinstallthesystemanddo
youpossesstheknowledgeandexperiencetodiagnosethe
problem?Ifsomeoneelsesetupthesystem,isitbettertocall
themorotheroutsideexperts?Aproperdiagnosiswillthen
dictatewhetherornotyoushould:
• Callinourdatarecoveryspecialistsor
• Initiateaself-fix(assumingthatanadequatebackupfacility
isavailable).
Shouldyouexperienceadataemergencyinthefuture,youmay
wellrecogniseyoursituationasbeingsimilartooneofthese
scenarios.Properdiagnosisandfollow-upcansaveyourdata
andperhapsmuchmore.
Situation 1: Failure of a single drive in a RAID 5 server• ThefailureofasingledrivehasbeendetectedinaRAID5server
buttheserverisstilloperatingandsendingdatatousers.
• Theservermayormaynothaveotherproblemsbesides
asinglefaileddrive.Theoperatorisunabletocarryouta
completediagnosis.
• Relyingonthe“hotfix”capabilitiesthoughttobeinherentin
thesystem,itistemptingfortheoperatortoreplacethefailed
drive“onthefly”thussparingusersanydowntime.
• Yieldingtothetemptation,theoperatorattemptsthehotfix.
-Ifsuccessful,theoperatorwillnotberegardedasaheroas
userswillnothavebeenaffectedbytheproblem.
- Ifunsuccessful,theoperatormaybecometheveryvisible
villainratherthantheinvisibleheroandheldresponsiblefor
aprolongedperiodofserverdowntimeandalltherelated
problems.
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• Inthissituation,thefollowingstepsshouldbetaken:
1. Intakingthepropercourseofaction,theveryfirstthing
whichshouldbedoneistoestablishwhetherornota
completeintegralbackupofthecurrentdataisviable,
evenifthiswouldinvolveinconveniencingusers.Atthis
point,acompletebackupwouldbeidealalthoughan
incrementalbackupmaysufficeifatriedandtested
restoreprocedureisinplacebasedonaseriesof
completeandincrementalbackups.
2. Secondly,restorethebackuptothealternate
“contingency”serverandmakesurethatitisoperational
incaseitisneeded.
3. Onceconfidentthatthecontingencyinfrastructureisready
foruseifneeded,theoperatorcanattempttocarryouta
hotfixorotherproceduresinordertoaddressthesituation.
Situation 2: Failure of RAID 5 server• Thefailureofmultipledrivesoracontrollerhasoccurredina
RAID5serverwhichhasrenderedtheserverinaccessible.
• Noalternativeserverisavailableornoadequatebackupis
availabletobeloadedonthealternativeserver.
• Asaresult,youarefacedwithafully-fledgeddataemergency.
• Manyoperatorsfacedwiththissituationwillattempttocarry
outaquickfixbytryingsomecombinationinvolvingreplacing
thefailedcomponentsandreconfiguringthesysteminorder
torebuildthefailedarray.Undertheseconditions,thereare
twopossibleoutcomes:
- Afunctioningserveronwhichallormostofitsdatais
missing.Atthispoint,mostofthedataandfilestructures
arelikelytohavebeenoverwritten,makingrecoveryvery
difficultorimpossible.
- Anon-functioningserveranddimmerprospectsfor
recovery.Atthispoint,mostofthedataandfilestructures
arelikelytohavebeenoverwritten,makingrecoveryvery
difficultorimpossible.
• Theappropriatethingtodowhenfacedwithsuchconditions
istocallinprofessionaldatarecoveryspecialists.
• Aprofessionaldatarecoveryspecialistwillstartbymaking
amirrorimageofthedataoneachdiscretetypeofmedia
involved,includinganyfaileddrives,whichmayrequirethe
performanceofhighlyspecialiseddatarecoverytechniquesin
alabfacility.Then,workingfromcopiesandusingproprietary
programsandmethods,thisspecialistwillrebuildthedataset
tothepointwhereitcanbetransferredtoaworkingserver.
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Situation 3: Server upgrade goes wrong• Installingnewapplicationsoftware,anewoperatingsystem
oradditionalornewhardwareisoftenreferredtoasa
serverupgrade.
• Thisisnotaneverydayeventandtheoperatormaylack
experienceinperformingtheprocess,notunderstanding,
forexample,thatmanyupgradesrequiredatatobereinitialised
-aprocesswhichbynaturedestroystheexistingdataor
filesystem.
• Duringtheseupgrades,a“dialoguebox”willappearcontaining
aseriesofquestionswhichtheoperatormayanswerwithout
fullyrealisingthepotentialimpactofthestepsinvolved.
Forexample,theoperatormaystartthedatareinitialisation
processafterawarninghasbeenmisunderstoodorignored.
Theseandotherproblemscanoccurduringupgradesand
rendertheserverinaccessible.
• Needtoupgradeyourserver?
-Neverinitiateanupgradewithoutfirstmakingsurethatyou
haveacompleteusablebackup.Thebestwaytodothisisto
restoreyourbackuptoanalternativeserversothatyouhave
afullyfunctionalredundantserverpopulatedwithcurrentdata.
Situation 4: Intermittent component failure in a RAID 5 server• Theelectricalandmechanicalproblemswhichaffectmedia
andtheirelectroniccomponentscanbeintermittent.While
thiscancomplicatediagnosis,itmayalsoprovidean
opportunitytocreateaneffectivebackupduringaninterval
whiletheserverisfunctioningproperly.
• Operatorsmaycarryouta“falsefix”byreplacinga
functioningcomponentinsteadofafailedcomponentafter
misinterpretingwarningsgeneratedbytheserver.
• Someserversareconfiguredtoself-initiatearebuildunder
certaincircumstances,potentiallyoverwritingotherwise
validmedia.
• Beforeaddressingasituationinwhichintermittentfailureis
involved,wewouldurgeyouonceagainto:
- Makesureyouhaveaneffectivebackup.
- Checkanddouble-checkyourdiagnosis.
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Situation 5: SQL, Oracle, DB2 database corruption • AservercrashesorexperiencesO/Sproblems.
• Tableshavebeendroppedorcorruptionhasoccurredwithin
theactualdatabase.
• TheDBA(DatabaseAdministrator)hasahighlevelofexpertise
regardingdatabasesandknowssomedatabase-specific
recoverytechniquesbutmaylackdetailedknowledgeof
datastorageplatforms.
• Theymaytrytoreinitialisethedatabase,makingthe
applicationfunctionalbutlosingalltheirdataintheprocess.
• Anotherfixwhichmaybeattemptedistousethetransaction
logsto“rollback”thedatabasetoa“knowngoodstate”.
• Thiscanbeagoodwaytosolvetheproblemif:
- thetransactionlogshavebeenexaminedanddeemed
tobegood;
- theoperationisattemptedonanalternativeserverusinga
copyoftheproblemdata.
• Thepreferredmethodisoftentotrytheroll-backonthe
primaryserverinordertosavetimesincerestoringtoan
alternativeservercanbeaverylengthyprocess.
• Ifthecorruptionisaresultofphysicaldriveproblemswhich
havenotbeenaddressed,thenaroll-backontheproblem
serverwillonlycompoundtheproblemresultinginthe
furtherdegradationofthesystemandamorecostlydata
recoveryoperation.
Situation 6: “Crisis in progress” SeagateRecoveryServicesisoftencontactedbyorganisations
whichareinthemidstofacrisis.Situationswillhavesomeorall
ofthefollowingcharacteristics:
• Theserverhaslostdataorbecomeinaccessibletousers.
• Documentationisoutofdate,sketchyandwrongorsimply
doesnotexistandusershavealowlevelofknowledgeand
apoorunderstandingofthesystem.
• Backupsareavailablebuttheprocessofrestoringthemis
misunderstoodor,whatisevenworse,backupsareoutof
dateordonotexist.
• Thedepartmentmanagerorin-housetechnicalteamshave
triedtocarryoutfixes.
• 3rdpartytechnicians(fromthemaintenanceservice-provider
orthevendor)havebeencalledinandhavetriedtorectifythe
situationbyperformingadditionaloperationsandattemptingto
carryoutfixes.
• Thevariousfixesattemptedtypicallyinvolvereplacing
suspectcomponentsand/orrestoringbackupstotheoriginal
(corrupted)media.
• Theserverhasnotbeenfixedandmayhavebeenfurther
degradedsincethesituationstarted.
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Whilethedetailsofindividualsituationsmaydiffer,theywillall
havethefollowingincommon:
• Lackofadequatebackupand/ornotriedandtested
restoreprocedure.
• Lackofdocumentationorknowledgeofthesystem
configurationandallthevarioushardware,softwareand
O/Slayersandhowtheyworktogether.
Professionaldatarecoveryspecialistswillstartanyrecovery
bymirroringeachdiscretemediainvolved.Knowingthatthey
canalwaysrevertbacktothesamestartingpoint,thelack
ofdocumentationcanthenbesafelyovercomebymeansof
analysisandexperimentationbasedonstrongknowledge
andexperienceofdatastorage.
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Recognising a data loss situationAdatalosssituationisusuallycharacterisedbythesudden
inabilitytoaccessdatafromacomputersystemorbackup
whichhadbeenworkingupuntilthatpointortheneedtotake
actionafterdataisaccidentallydeletedordatacontrolstructures
areoverwritten.Thissectionoutlinesthemajorsymptomsof
dataloss.
Server data loss symptoms/issues • Symptomsrelatingtophysicalproblems
- Aserversuddenlycrashesduringoperationorwhen
bootingup.
- Tickingorgrindingnoisescomingfromoneofthehard
driveswhenbootinguportryingtoaccessfiles.
Thissymptommaybefollowedbyactualdataaccess
problemsasthedriveutilisessparesectors.
- Failureofasingleharddrive.
- Failureofmultipledrives.
- RAIDcontrolleralarmflashing.
- FailureoftheRAIDcontrollerrenderingdrivesinaccessible.
- Intermittentdrivefailureresultinginconfigurationcorruption.
- Visiblefireorwaterdamage.
• Symptomsrelatingtosoft(logical)problems
- Serverwillnotrebootaftera“routine”upgradetooperating
systemorapplications.
- Bootdrivefilesystemproblemsinvolvingthelossofcritical
configurationdata.
- Serverstoragesystemsregistryconfigurationlost/overwritten.
- Accidentaldeletionofdata.
- Accidentalreformattingofpartitions.
- AccidentalreconfigurationofRAIDdrives.
- Accidentalreplacementofharddrive.
• Soft(logical)orphysicalsymptoms(botharepossible)
- Serverrebootsbutcannotaccessoreven“see”
attachedstorage.
- Restoreprocessfailsorisprematurelyaborted.
- Applicationsareunabletorunorloaddata.
- Extremedegradationofapplicationperformance.
- Folderswhichshouldbefulloffilesopenbutappearempty.
- Inaccessibledrivesandpartitions.
- Corrupteddata.
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Tape media data loss symptoms/issues• Corruptedtapeheaders:
- Tapeappearsemptyofdata(blank)butshouldbefull.
- Tapeshouldbefullbutcontainsverylittledata.
- Thetapeisinvisibleorinaccessibletotherestoreprogram.
• Accidentalreformattingorerasureoftape.
• Tapehasbecomeunspooledinsidethecartridge.
• Obviousphysicaldamage.
- Tapemediastretched,snappedorsplit.
- Visiblefireorwaterdamage.
• Mediasurfacecontaminationanddamage.
- Tapecannotbereadpastaworn-outorcontaminatedarea.
• Problemswithtapebackupsoftwareinvolvingcorrupt
catalogueinformationorcorruptdatacontrolstructures.
Optical media • Sectorreaderrorspreventingaccess.
• Corruptedfilesystemstructuresappearemptyorinvalid
(e.g.FAT,directories,partitionentries).
• Auto-loadersandjukeboxes.
Bothopticalandtapemedialibrariesormulti-volumescan
bemaintainedbymeansofautomation.Inordertosecurean
archivecopy,abackupcopytobekeptoffsiteorforother
reasons,techniciansneedtocarryoutrotationsinorderto
cyclethemediainandoutoftheautoloaders.Asthesecan
becomplexsystems,anyerrorduringrotationcancausedata
tobeoverwritten.
Tapemediacanoccasionallysufferphysicaldamagedueto
mechanicalproblemsaffectingtapedrives.Thedamagecan
beincreasedbyautomation:arobottryingtoremovesuch
atapefromadrivewillnotrecognisetheproblemwhereas
ahumanoperatorhasabetterchanceofremovingthetape
withoutcausingfurtherdamage.
Corrupted/damaged databases • Thedatabaseismarkedas“suspect”,preventingaccess,
andcannotberestoredtoafunctionalstate.
• Tableshavebeen“dropped”orrecreated.
• Backupfilesarenotrecognisedbythedatabaseengine.
• Databasefileshavebeenaccidentallyoverwritten.
• Recordshavebeenaccidentallydeleted.
• Databasefilesorrecordshavebeencorrupted.
• Individualdatapageshavebeendamaged.
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Experiencingadataemergency?Themostimportantquestion
toaskyourselforyourusersis:
“How important is your data?”Theanswertothisquestionwillhelpyouchooseanappropriate
courseofaction.
1. Mydataisbusiness-critical:tomostpeopleexperiencing
adatalossemergency,restoringapplicationdataisjustas
importantasmakingthesystemoperationalagain,i.e.the
systemandthedatatogetherdefinean“operationalsystem”.
Ifdataisimportant,thenfollowthefirstprincipleofdata
recoveryto“DONOHARM”whenyouaddressyour
situationandrememberthatyoucancallindatarecovery
specialiststohelp.
2.MydataisNOTbusiness-critical:insomecircumstances,
theprioritywillbetogetsystemsoperationalagainregardless
ofthestatusoftheapplicationdata.Ifthisisthecase,youare
notexperiencingatruedataemergency.Youwillprobably
beabletotreatthesituationasabrandnewinstallationand
usethesamehumanandITresourceswhoinitiallysetup
andconfiguredtheinstallation.
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Data recovery process: What to do first?What NOT to do:Ifyouarefacedwithadatalosssituation,whatNOTtodois
veryimportant!
• Neverrunaprogramorutilitywhichwritestooraltersthe
problemmediainanyway.Ifthesystemshowssymptomsofa
physicallydamageddeviceorsymptomsofdatacorruption:
- Neverrestoreabackup.
- NeverreinstallsoftwareoranO/S.
- Donotreinitialisethemediaordatabase.
- Donotattempttorollbackthedatabasetoaknown
goodstate.
• Donotallowanyoneelsetowritetooralterproblemmedia
includingcompaniesoffering“remoterecoveryservices”.If
forsomereasonyourrestoredoesnotwork,youmayhave
createdasituationwherepotentialrecoveryfromtheoriginal
mediamaynolongerbeaviableoption.
• Donotbootupadevicewhichhasobviousphysicaldamage.
• Donotbootupadevicewhichhasshownsymptomsof
physicalfailure.Forexample,drivesobviouslymakingnoises
duetoamechanicalfault,suchastickingorgrinding,should
notberepeatedlybootedupandtestedasitwilljustmake
themworse.
• Activatethewrite-protectswitchortabonanyremovable
mediasuchastapecartridgesandfloppydisks.(Alotofgood
backupsareoverwrittenduringacrisis).
• Donotattempttoremoveadamagedorunspooledtape
fromadriveunlessyouhavethespecialistknowledgeand
equipmenttodoso.
What to do:
Review, record and stay calmWhenfacedwithdataloss,stopandreviewthesituation.Distress
andevenpanicaretypicalreactionsunderthecircumstances
sotheprocessofreviewingandwritingdownasynopsisofthe
situationhasthedualpurposeofpreparingforrecoveryand
inducingcalm.
Resist the pressure to carry out an instant fixIfyouhave“recognisedadatalosssituation”,stopandanalyse
thesituationratherthanattempttofixitimmediately.Youmaybe
underconsiderablepressuretoimmediatelyresolvethesituation
fromco-workers,yourbossorevenyourowndeadlines.While
aquickfixmayprovesuccessful,ifitisnot,thenyourattempts
mayactuallyincreasethedamageandgreatlyreducethe
prospectsofsuccessfuldatarecovery.
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Beware of DIY solutions and products and remote recovery servicesTherearenumerouswebsitesofferingadviceondatarecovery
andvendorsofferingDIY(Do-It-Yourself)softwaresolutions.
Unfortunately,theadviceisoftenjustcompletelywrongand
DIYsoftwareorremoterecoveryservicesmaycomplicateyour
problemsanddiminishtheprospectsofsuccessfulrecovery
shouldthesesoftwarerecoveryattemptsfail.Youshouldalso
notethatthereisnosoftwareintheworldwhichcanfixstorage
mediawithphysicaldefects.
Set up an alternative systemConsultyourcompany’ssystemsdocumentationinorderto
configureanothercomputer/servertotemporarilyreplacethe
problemunit.Restorewhateverbackupsareavailableontothis
unitandreconfigureitasnecessaryinordertoenableproductive
worktocontinue.Ofcourse,themoretimethathasbeenspent
oncontingencyplanningbeforethedataloss,thelesstimeitwill
nowtaketosetupanalternativesystem.
Disk drive handling and ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) precautionsBeforehandlingyourcomputerandespeciallybeforetouching
orhandlingthemediaitself,bewareofcreatingstaticelectrical
discharges.(SeeappendixC).
Call Seagate Recovery Services data recovery labs Ourdatarecoveryconsultantswillanswerallyourquestionsand
helpyoutodeterminehowtoaddressyoursituation.Ifdataloss
isconfirmed,youwillbegivenadviceonhowtosendinyour
media,aguaranteedturn-aroundtimeforthefreeevaluation,
whatyoucanexpecttobechargedandwhatfactorsmayaffect
thespeedwithwhichwewillbeabletorecoveryourdata.
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Data Emergency WorksheetThefollowingpageshavebeendesignedasaworkbooktohelp
youpreparefortheactiontobetakentoensuresuccessful
recoveryafteradataemergency.
1. When was the system last running properly?
2 a) What operator activities have been carried out since then?
2 b) What symptoms of problems have arisen since then?
3. Are there any specific error messages?
4 a) Backup history: when was the last “complete system backup” carried out?
4 b) Backup history: provide dates and details of “incremental backups”.
4 c) Backup history: provide dates and details of partial backups (ex: selected data files).
5. Are there any specific databases and directories which are important to you?
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6. List the details of your configuration such as:
6a) Operating system name and version (Windows NT, Novell, Unix version, etc).
6 b) Provide details of the system set-up, partitions and storage configuration, if any.
6c) Have you installed any application software packages?
Names Versions
Are the original CDs and
documentation available?
6d) What login passwords are required?
7a) Do you have a contingency plan?
7b) What resources are available to you for implementing this plan?
7c) Can you run your applications on a “spare” server?
7d) Can you attempt to restore your backup to the spare server and leave the problem unit alone for now?
8) Are you or your technicians qualified to make a proper diagnosis of the problem?
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Our data recovery processInitial inquiry and consultation processTheSeagateRecoveryServicesCSR(CustomerService
Representative)willfollowthemedicaloathto“donoharm”and
willendeavourtoanalyse,preserveandstabilisethecurrent
situation.Keepingtheusuallydistressedcustomercalm,theywill
seekanswerstothequestionslistedaboveinordertofullygrasp
thesituationathand.ASeagateRecoveryServicesCSRwillbe
abletoconfirmthatyouhaveadatalosssituationwhichtheycan
helpyouwith.
Onceadatalosssituationhasbeenconfirmed,youwilleither
sendtheproblemmediatothenearestSeagateRecovery
Serviceslaborarrangeforonsite(criticalresponse)serviceif
required.
Ifpossible,werecommendremovingthemediafromthecomputer
beforesendingit.Bewareofcreatinganelectrostaticdischarge
(ESD-seeAppendixC)whilehandlingyourmedia.Visitthe
SeagateRecoveryServiceswebsite(services.seagate.com)for
moreinformationonpackaging.
The recovery process starts with a free evaluationAftercarefullyinspectingtheproblemmediaandreviewingallthe
informationavailableonthecase,theSeagateRecoveryServices
technicianswillprovidetheCSRwithafulldiagnosticreport.The
CSRwillthenprovidethecustomerwithadefinitivequote.The
diagnosiswillbecarriedoutandthequoteprovidedatnocostto
thecustomer.
Fixing physical problemsApproximately70%ofcaseshavesomesignofphysicalfailure.If
thisissevere,some(temporary)hardwarefixesmayneedtobe
carriedoutevenbeforethediagnosiscanbecompleted.These
wouldinclude:
• A“boardswap”wherebyadefectivePCB(printedcircuitboard)
onthedrivewillbereplacedwithonewhichworks.
• A“headtransplant”wherebyadefectiveread/writeheadonthe
drivewillbereplacedwithonewhichworks.
• A“platterormotortransplant”forcertainmodels.
Obtaining a mirror image (making a copy of the data)Astheproblemmediamayfailcompletelyafterrepeateduse,a
“mirroring”process(i.e.makingaspecialcopyofthedatafromthe
problemmedia)isthefirstpriorityduringthediagnosticphase.In
mostcases,allsubsequentrecoveryactivitieswillbecarriedout
onthemirroredcopy.
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Fixing logical problems: corrupted files or file systemsThenextstepisthelogicalretrievalofdata.Ourprogrammers
workwiththemirroredcopyofthedataanduseproprietary
softwareprogramstofixcorruptedfilesandfilesystemsand
putcorruptedfilesbacktogetherwhilefocussingonthe
customer’spriorities.
Tracking the caseOurweb-based,online,proprietary“JobTrack”systemforms
the“centralnervoussystem”oftheSeagateRecoveryServices
process.JobTrackrecordsandpublishestimelineandother
commitmentstoourcustomersbecausekeepingpromisesisan
integralpartoftheSeagateRecoveryServicesbusinessmodel.
Customersusetheircasenumberandaprivatepasswordtogain
accesstotheJobTracksystemviatheSeagateRecoveryServices
websiteandcantrackthestep-by-stepprocesstorecovertheir
mediaandreviewrelatedquotesandinvoicesthemselves.
OurstaffmembersalsouseJobTracktodocumentandmanage
ourworkflowprocess.ItismaintainedbySeagateRecovery
Servicesstaffatallourlocationsandisaprimarytoolwhich
isusedtoenforceISO9001:2000complianceandprovide
extraordinarylevelsofcustomerservice.Itisanintegrated
systemservingalldepartmentsatalllocationswhilemaximising
theefficientuseofresources.
Costs vs. value• SeagateRecoveryServicescandeterminethecostofrecovery.
SeagateRecoveryServices’ratesfordatarecoveryarebased
onanumberoffactors:
- thecomplexityoftheproblem;
- theamountoflabourinvolved;
- theamountoflabtimeandotherresourcesrequired;
- theavailability(orscarcity)ofparts.
• Onlythe“owner”ofthedatareallyknowsthevalueofthedata.
• SeagateRecoveryServiceswillprovideafirmquotedetailing
theexpectedtimeframeandoutcomeoftherecovery.Withthis
tohand,thecustomercandecide:
- whetherornotthevalueofthedataisgreaterthanthe
costofrecovery;
- whetherornotthecostofrecoveryismorethanthecostof
inputting/recreatingthedatamanually.
• SeagateRecoveryServicescustomershavethefinalsayon
whetherornottherecoverywassuccessful.
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SeagateRecoveryServicesprovidesthreedistinctlevelsof
service:Economy,PriorityandCriticalResponse.
Economy service features• Thislevelofservicemeetsnormalrequirementsandfits
thebudgetavailabletomostcustomersofSeagate
RecoveryServices.
• In-labservice.
• Freeevaluation.
• Fastturn-aroundofevaluationsandrecoveries.
• Nofiles=nocharge.
• Dataguarantee:“Ifanacceptedrecoveryisnotcarriedoutas
promised,SeagateRecoveryServicesdatarecoverylabswill,
atitsoption,attempttorectifytherecoveryorrefundallorpart
oftherecoveryfeespaid.”
Priority service features• Thislevelofservicemeetstherequirementforurgencyand
fitsthebudgetavailabletomostcustomersofSeagate
RecoveryServices.
• In-labservice.
• Freeevaluation.
• Fastturn-aroundofevaluationsandrecoveries.
• Nofiles=nocharge.
• Dataguarantee:“Ifanacceptedrecoveryisnotcarriedoutas
promised,SeagateRecoveryServicesdatarecoverylabswill,
atitsoption,attempttorectifytherecoveryorrefundallorpart
oftherecoveryfeespaid.”
Priority service step-by-step workflow• PriorityservicemeansthatSeagateRecoveryServicesCSRs
andlabpersonnelwilldevotetheirfullattentiontoeachjobright
fromthefirstphonecallfromthe(usually)distressedcustomer.
• Wetrackincomingcasestomakesurethattheyarriveontime.
• Uponreceiptofthecustomer’smedia,theSeagateRecovery
ServicesCSRwillimmediatelyinformthecustomeroftheircase
numberandpasswordandconfirmthattheirjobhasarrivedand
thatworkhasalreadybegunaspartofourevaluationprocess.
• Themethodofcommunicationused,basedoncustomer
preference,maybebytelephone,e-mail,faxor,ofcourse,our
web-basedonline“JobTrack”systemwhichisavailable24hours
aday,7daysaweek.
• Theresultsoftheinitialevaluationwillbecommunicatedassoon
astheyareavailable,oftenwithinafewhoursofreceipt.
• Allcustomerswillbecontactedregardingthestatusoftheirjob
within10workinghours.
• Ourcustomerserviceprocessinvolvesintensecommunication
betweenthelab,theCSRandthecustomerandisbasedon
yearsofsuccessfulretrievaloflostdata.
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• Eachcaseisuniqueandwillsometimesrequireseveralcyclesof
questionsandanswers(Q&A)beforeweareabletopresentthe
customerwithaquote.
• Afterthecustomerhasapprovedthequote,thelabwillproceed
tothenextstage.Thiswillinvolveproducingalistofthefilesthat
canbefound,theconditionofthefilesandanyotherpertinent
information.TheCSRwillthenconfirmtothecustomerthatwe
haveindeedfoundthedatatheyneedandarewillingtopayfor.
Withthisconfirmationtohand,wewillthenproceedwiththe
finalstagesoftherecovery.
• Wewillpresentasummaryoftheoutcometothecustomer
andthensecurepaymentpriortoshippingthedatabacktothe
customeronthereturnmediaoftheirchoice.
• WhetherthePriorityservicecanbecompletedwithinoneday,
afewdaysormorewilldependontheavailabilityofthe
customertocompletetheQ&Aprocessandthecomplexity
oftherecoveryjob.
• CustomersgetaccesstoouremergencyCriticalResponse
servicewhichoperates24hoursaday,7daysaweek.
• Keepingpromisesisfundamentaltotheentireprocess.
Critical Response serviceTheCriticalResponseserviceisdesignedfortheselectfewclients
whoneedaspeciallevelofround-the-clockserviceandhave
sufficientbudgetresourcesavailable.Thisserviceisavailable
24hoursaday,7daysaweek.TheSeagateRecoveryServices
CriticalResponseteamismadeupofthebestofthebestdata
recoverytechnicianswhotaketurnsbeingonstandbyandare
readytotravelanywhereatamoment’snotice.
Theteamiscalledintocarryoutallkindsofmission-critical
recoveriesincludingcombinationsofnetworkservers,RAID,NAS,
SAN,tapeauto-loadersandopticaljukeboxesandcorrupted
filesetsinsoftwareplatformssuchasSQL,Oracleand
Exchangeserver.
Onsiteserviceisavailableforemergencysituationswhere
immediateshippingtooneofourlabsisnotfeasibleorsecurity
procedurespreventthemediafromleavingthedatacentre.
Whetherthecaseishandledinthelaboronsite,weworkround
theclocktorestoremission-criticaloperations.Ourfirststepis
alwaystoanalysethenstabilisethesituationbeforeweattempt
recovery.
UnlikethefreeevaluationprovidedunderourPriorityservice,
thereisanon-refundablefeeof€5,000forcallingintheSeagate
RecoveryServicesCriticalResponseteam.Pricingfortheentire
projectwillthenbenegotiatedduringtheinitialengagementphase.
20
Appendix A: What is data recovery?
It may not be what you think it is! Manypeopleequatedatarecoverywithrestoringdatafroma
tapebackuporusetheterm“datarecovery”interchangeably
with“disasterrecovery”asinrecoveringfromamajordisaster
suchasaflood,fireorbombingattack.Thesemeaningsare
quitetrueinthegeneralsenseand“datarecovery”isusually
onestepwithinthe“disasterrecovery”process.
However,theterm“datarecovery”hasaveryspecificmeaning
withinthecomputerindustry.First,consideroneofthedictionary
definitionsof‘recovery’:
‘Recovery’(noun)
“Theactofobtainingusablesubstancesfromunusablesources”.
Basedonthis,SeagateRecoveryServicesoffersthe
followingdefinition:
‘Datarecovery’(noun)
“Theactofobtainingusabledatafromdownedcomputersand
backupsandcorruptedfilesets”.
Datarecoverycasescanbedividedintotwobroadcategories:
Common recoveries
Theseinvolvefloppydisksandharddriveswhichareusuallyfrom
single-userPCs.
Complex recoveries
Theseinvolveharddrives,RAIDarrays,tapeandopticalmedia
orcorrupteddatabasesandfilesystemsusuallyfrommulti-user,
businesssystems.Datastorageatthehigh-endhasbecomea
verycomplexfield.Inthecaseofthesecomplexsituations,
datarecoverycanbeseenas“troubleshootingdatastorage”.
Whethercommonorcomplex,eachdatarecoverycaseis
uniqueandtheprocesscanbeveryresource-intensiveand
exceedinglytechnical.
21
Appendix B: What to ask before calling in a data recovery service1. What is your data recovery success rate?Statisticscanberatherdeceptiveastheycanbedoctoredto
appearbetterthantheyreallyare.Successratesaredeliberately
mentionedinonlineadvertising-designedtocapitaliseonthe
knowledgethatyourdataisinvaluabletoyouandthatyouneed
aguaranteethatyouwillgetitback.Theyknowthisandwilltell
youexactlywhatyouwanttohearabouttheirrecoverysuccess
rates.AtSeagate,weknowthatifyourdataisrecoverable,there
isnodoubtthatweWILLgetitback.Howeverifwedeemyour
dataUNRECOVERABLE,willbeupfrontaboutit.Astheworld’s
leadingdigitalstorageprovider,youareguaranteedthatwehave
thebesttechnologyonearthforgettingyourdataback.
IfSeagatecan’tgetitback,no-onecan.
2. What do I get for the price I am paying?WhenmakingtheBIGdecisiontobuydatarecoveryservices,
askyourself“WhodoItrustmosttorecovermyimportantdata?”
Ifthepriceistoocheap,thendouble-checkwhatyou’repaying
for.Mostdatarecoveryserviceswhichofferyouapriceof€500
torecoveryourdatahavelimitedsuccessrates.Thisisoften
becausetheyarerestrictedtocertaintypesofrecoveryoptions
suchasPCBdamaged,partitiontables,bootrecordcorruption
andMFTrecordsrestorations.Eventhefilestructurestheywork
withmayberestrictedtoNTFSfilesystemsonly.Itisalwaysa
goodideatocheckiftheyarecommittingtorecoverdeletedfiles
only.Seagatebelievesinvalueformoney.Ifyouarelookingfor
acost-effectivedatarecoverysolutionwithoutriskofanyfurther
damagetoyourmedia,tryourFileRecoveryforWindowsfirst.If
Seagate’sDIYsoftwaresolutioncannotrecoveryourdata,you
willneedaprofessionaldatarecoverylabservicetogetyour
databack.
3. Will I only get my data back?Don’tbeafraidtoaskwhatyouwillgetforthepriceyouare
paying.Afterall,itisyourdata,yourmoneyandyoudeservethe
verybestservice!Alwayscompareservice-providersintermsof
whatyouarebeingpromisedforthemoneyyouarespending.
Ifyourmoneyonlybuysyourdataback,youarenotgettinga
gooddeal.Asanabsoluteminimum,yourdatarecoveryservice-
providershouldofferyou:
• Noevaluationfees
• Acleartimeframeforgettingyourdataback
• Complimentaryshippingtoandfromtheirfacilities
• AFREEdiskdrivecoveredbyawarranty
22
• Telephone-basedpersonalsupport24hoursaday,
7daysaweek
• Onlinecasestatusreporting24hoursaday,7daysaweek
• Adedicatedcasemanager
Anddon’tforgetthatthereshouldbeaclearNoData-No
Chargeguarantee.Iftheycannotgetyourdataback,whyshould
youbechargedfortheservice?
4. What are the quote and payment agreements?Paymentoptions,includingwhenandforwhatyouarebeing
charged,shouldbeclearlyexplained.Andalwaysupfront!
Allcommitmentsandpromisesshouldalwaysbeconfirmedup
frontandmustbemetatthetimeofinvoicing.Datarecoveryis
nodifferentfromanyotherserviceyoupurchase-youshould
knowinadvanceexactlywhatyouaregettingfortheprice
youpay.SeagateRecoveryServicescommitstoprovidinga
firmquotebeforeworkcommences.Thepricequotedisthe
priceyoupay.Therearenoextracharges,hiddenshippingor
evaluationfees.EverySeagatedatarecoverycaseisdelivered
withinthecontextofafirmserviceandpricecommitmentset
outinthetermsoftheagreement.
5. How will my data be returned to me?Obtainaclearcommitmentastohowthedatawillbereturned
toyou.Asanabsoluteminimum,yourdatashouldbereturned
onmediawhichyoucaneasilyaccessandintegrateintoyour
existingsystem.AtSeagate,wewillreturnyourdataona
Seagatediskdrivecoveredbya2-yearwarrantyatnoadditional
chargeifyouchooseourPriorityservice.Forremovablemedia
(flashdrives,memorysticks,USBmemory,etc.)wereturn
yourdataonaSeagatepocketdrive.Theendgoalisalways
toensurethatyourdataiseasilyaccessibleandusablethe
momentitisreturned.
6. What about my warranty?Attemptingtorecoverdatamayvoidthewarrantyagreement
youhavewiththemanufacturer.Honouringathirdparty/drive
manufacturerwarrantymaycausedelaysinrecoveringdata,e.g.
bywaitingforconfirmationthatthewarrantywillbehonoured.
Askyourservice-providerhowtheywillhonouryourmedia’s
warranty.Iftheydon’tprovideyouwithaclearwarranty
statement,youmayhavetopurchaseanewharddriveafteryour
datahasbeenrecovered.Seagatehonoursallmanufacturers’
warrantiesbyreplacingthemediawithcomparableSeagate
media.ShouldSeagateRecoveryServicesvoidanon-Seagate
and/ornon-Maxtorproductwarranty,SeagateRecovery
Serviceswillreplacethecompetitivedrivewithanequivalent
Seagatedrivefreeofcharge.TheSeagatedrivewillbecovered
byanew2-yearwarranty.
23
Appendix C: Case studies on mission-critical recoveries
460GB RAID 5 crash at a technology company• RAIDupgradefrom6drivesto8appearedsuccessful.
• Subsequentrebootprecipitatedlossofallaccesstothedata
storedontheRAID5server.
• Serverurgentlyneededforaproductlaunch.
• ServercrashedonFridayevening;SeagateRecovery
ServicesCriticalResponseteamhadtherecoveryunder
waywithin3hours.
• Onsiteandremotetechniciansworkedroundtheclock.
• Completeturnaroundin36hours!Productlaunchwas
successfulsupportedbythefullyfunctional8-driveserver.
Database corruption• AnInternet-basedfinancialservicescompanymaintained
alltransactionrecordsinalargeSQLdatabaseonits
corporateserver.
• Aroutinesoftwaremaintenanceprogramwasrunperiodically
withoutanyproblemsuntiltheoperatormadeanerrorwhile
launchingtheprogram.
• Anumberofthedatabasetableswere“dropped”then
recreatedandre-populatedwithdata.Asaresult,someof
thedatawasoverwrittenandfilestructuresweredamaged
causingthemainapplicationtocrash.
• Arecentbackupwasnotavailable.
• Withoutthismission-criticaldataandassociatedapplication,
thisbusinesswasdoomedtofaceimminentruin.
• SeagateRecoveryServicesanalysedtheserverand
themajorityofthemissingdatawasidentifiedasbeing
recoverable.Nophysicalproblemswerefound,confirming
thiscaseasacomplexlogicalrecovery.
• Thecustomeridentifiedthemostcriticalofthemissingtables
andinordertocontaincosts,SeagateRecoveryServices
focussedtheireffortsonthesetables.
• Thecriticaltableswererecoveredandreturnedtothe
customerwhowassoonbackinbusiness.
24
Lost diagnostic images on DLT cartridges• Alargeurbanhospitalinthenorth-eastUSwasgenerating
approximately90,000medicalimagesperdayrequiringabout
25GBofdigitaldatastorage.
• Theyhadaregulatoryrequirementandanobligationto
patientstoprovidetheoriginalimages.
• TaperotationerrorscausederroneousEOD
(End-of-Data)markers.
• ITvendorstumpedorlackedresourcestoresolvetheproblem.
• Proprietaryexpertiserequired.
• Time-intensiverecoveryduetothenatureoftapeproblems.
• Thehospitalregainedaccesstothelostimagesandwas
abletoprovidethehighstandardofhealthcaretheirstaff
andpatientsdemanded.
25
Appendix D: Handling tips & ESD precautions Mishandlingisaleadingcauseofharddiskdrivefailure.
Hard disk drive Do’s• Handleaharddiskdrivethesamewayyouwouldhandleanegg.
• AlwayscarryoutESD*precautions.
• Handledrivesoneatatime.
• Whenhandlingdrives,onlytouchthesides.
• Padallharddiskdriveworksurfaces.
• Handlefailedharddiskdriveswiththesamecareas
newdrives.
• Wait10secondsbeforemovingafterswitchingoffinorderto
makesurethatthedrivehasstoppedspinning.
• Preventunprotecteddrivesfrommoving:useESDpackaging
(anti-staticbag)whenmovingdrivesandkeeptheamountof
handlingtoaminimum.
Hard disk drive Don’ts • Neverdropdrives.
• Neverallowdrivestocomeintocontactwithhardsurfaces.
• Neverstackdrives,evenintheESDprotectivebag.
• NeverallowtoolstocomeintocontactwiththePCBAorallow
contactwithoutESDprotection.
• Neverstanddrivesonend.
Disk drive components susceptible to handling damage• Heads-broken,chipped,degraded.
• Disks-scratchedmedia,headslaps.
• PCB-ESDdamage,bentconnectorpins,brokencomponents.
*ESD (Electrostatic Discharge)Afamiliarformofelectrostaticdischarge,oftenreferredtoas
“staticelectricity”,istheshockwereceiveafterwalkingacrossa
carpet.Inatechnicalenvironment,ESDcanproveverycostlyby
harmingdevicesorcomponents.ESDmaycauseacatastrophic
failurewhichisimmediatelyapparentoralatentfailureinwhich
gradualdegradationoccursduringuse,resultingineventualfailure.
ESD precautions• ComputerprofessionalsshouldpurchaseESDwriststraps,
floormatsandeducatethemselvesregardingESDprecautions.
• Personalusersshoulddischargethestaticonthemselvesby
touchingametalobjectbeforetouchingacomputer,harddrive
orothercomponent.
• Peopleinverycoldordryareasshouldbeawarethathumidair
helpstodissipateelectrostaticcharges.
26
Our pitch
Customers with a data emergency need• Urgentservice.
• Intensecommunication.
• Theabilitytocontrolprocesses.
• Pricingintegrity.
• UsabledatatobereturnedASAP.
Seagate Recovery Services delivers• Afastturnaroundforin-labevaluationsandin-labrecoveries.
• Freeevaluations.
• Nofiles=nocharge.
• Dataguarantee.
• CSRsusethetelephone,e-mail,fax,JobTrackorwhatever
meansnecessarytokeepthecustomerinformedregarding
thestatusoftheircase.Thisensuresthatwefocusonthe
customer’sprioritiesandseekongoingapprovaltocontinue
therecoveryprocessontheirbehalf.
• Toolsandprocessestokeepthecustomerincontrolof
theprocess.
• CriticalResponseteamgoesonsiteand/orworks
round-the-clocktorestoremission-criticaloperations.
• Customersatisfaction,usabledata.
Strengths of Seagate Recovery Services• ISO9001:2000certification.
• Manufacturers’support.Wearepermittedtoopenvirtually
anyharddrivewithoutvoidingthewarrantyandenjoyreferrals
frommanymanufacturersincludingMaxtor,IBM,Quantum,
WesternDigital,SeagateandDell.
• Allharddiskdrives&floppydisks.
• O/S:allversionsofWindows,MacandUnix.
• Complexrecoveries.
• Servers:RAID,NASandSAN.
• Magnetictapeandopticalstorage.
• Auto-loaders,librariesandjukeboxes.
• File“repair”:SQL,Oracle,Exchangeserver.
Key benefits of Seagate Recovery Services• Recoveryteam:CSRs+lab+customer-orientated
worldwidepresence.
• Urgentattentionispaidtoeachcase.
• Old,newandcomplextechnology.
• Unrivalledexpertisegainedacrossawidevarietyofhardware/
softwarecombinationsanddatalosssituations.
• Extensiveinvestmentsinthelatesttechnology,continuous
improvementinmethodologiesandskilledpeople.
• Experienceservingthemostdemandingcustomers.
• Usabledatareturnedtocustomer.
27
What to do next?• Backup, restore and maintain your systems.
• Visit and bookmark:
Seagate Recovery Services.com
• Spread the word on data recovery.
Data emergency?When in doubt, contact a professional data recovery
expert at:services.seagate.com
Oursuccessisbasedonprovidingfreeevaluations,fastturn-
aroundtimes,excellentcustomercareandsolutionswhich
guaranteethereturnofusabledata.
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