Restore it before you need it
Every quarter, a timed restore of files, mail and one system.
- Term
- Every quarter
- Price, indicative
- From $240 per quarter
CISA’s #StopRansomware Guide says to “regularly test the availability and integrity of backups in a disaster recovery scenario.” The Restore Drill does that every quarter, on a timer, and in writing.
One quarter, one drill
- Each quarter
Agree the sample
We pick the files, the mailbox and the full system with you, rotating so each system takes a turn.
- Drill day
Restore in isolation
Each item restores into an isolated environment, so nothing touches your live systems or users.
- Drill day
Time every step
We time each restore from request to working copy and check that the data opens and is complete.
- Within 3 business days
Send the result
One written report: what was restored, how long each step took, what failed and why.
- Same quarter
Fix and re-test
Anything that failed is fixed, then restored again before the quarter ends.
What you receive
- Who it is for
- Ezbre backup clients; free with 3 or more servers
- Format
- Remote, isolated environment, written result
- A restore of a file sample, one mailbox and one full system each quarter
- A time for each restore, set against the recovery target you agreed
- A written result within 3 business days of the drill
- Every failure fixed and re-tested within the same quarter
- A rotation that tests a different full system each quarter
- Included free for clients with 3 or more servers on Server Backup
Is this the right plan?
Right for you if
- Nobody has restored a whole system from your backups in the past year
- You could not say how long a full restore would take today
- You want restore times measured, not estimated
- Your systems changed recently and nobody has restored since
Look elsewhere if
- You run 3 or more servers on Server Backup; the drill is already included
- You want a written plan for every system; that is the Recovery Runbook
- Your backups are run elsewhere and we hold no copy to restore from
Example: an empty database, found early
A 50-person building-supply distributor runs orders and inventory on one server, with mail in Microsoft 365. In the April drill, the server image boots in 2 hours 10 minutes, but the order database is empty. A software update in February had moved it to a new disk the backup did not include. We add the disk, re-run the drill in May, and the database restores complete.
Restore Drill questions, answered
What does a restore drill test?
Each quarter it tests three things: a sample of files, one mailbox and one full system, each restored into an isolated environment. We time every step, check that the restored data opens and is complete, and write down anything that failed. The full system rotates, so a different server or workstation takes its turn.
Will a restore drill disrupt our staff?
No. Everything restores into an isolated environment that never connects to your network or your users, so staff keep working as normal. We need about 15 minutes from you to agree the sample, and one person to open a restored file and confirm it is the right one.
What is in the written drill report?
It lists what was restored and from which date, how long each step took against your recovery target, and what failed and why. It ends with the fixes and the date of the re-test. You receive it within 3 business days of the drill, and your account owner walks you through it on request.
Is the Restore Drill free with Server Backup?
Yes, for clients with 3 or more servers on Server Backup, the quarterly drill is included at no charge. With 1 or 2 servers, or with workstations and cloud apps only, it costs from $240 per quarter. The drill, the timings and the written report are the same either way.
What happens if a drill fails?
We fix the cause and run that restore again in the same quarter, then send you an updated result. Finding a failure is the point of the exercise: a drill turns up a missing disk, an expired password or a skipped folder on a quiet day, rather than during a real outage.
Plan this with an engineer
A free 45-minute backup check to see whether Restore Drill fits your systems, your recovery targets and your budget.