Backup storage locations and the 3-2-1 rule

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A school keeps its nightly backup on a drive in the same server room as the original data. A fire hits that room. What is the problem?

A Nothing is lost, because a backup always survives any disaster

B Both the data and the backup are lost, because the backup was stored onsite

2. Which storage location best protects a backup from a fire at the main office?

A A second hard drive in the same office

B Offsite or cloud storage in a different location

3. What does the 3-2-1 rule say?

A 3 copies of data, on 2 types of media, with 1 copy offsite

B 3 offsite sites, 2 passwords, and 1 backup per week

4. In the 3-2-1 rule, what does the '1' stand for?

A One copy stored offsite, such as in cloud storage

B One copy stored on the same server as the original

5. A business has its original data plus one backup on an external hard drive. Does it follow the 3-2-1 rule?

A No. It has only 2 copies, on 1 type of media, and none offsite

B Yes. Having any backup at all meets the 3-2-1 rule

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
13-2-1 rule		ABoth copies sit in the same location on the same device, so one disaster or hardware failure destroys the data and its backup. Keep at least one copy offsite, such as cloud storage.
2Offsite backup		BThere are 3 copies but only 1 media type and no offsite copy. The 3-2-1 rule needs 2 different media types and 1 copy stored offsite, for example in the cloud.
3Backups kept only onsite are at risk because a single fire or flood could destroy both the original data and its copies.		COriginal + external drive + cloud backup
4A plan that follows the 3-2-1 rule has 3 copies, on 2 types of media, with 1 copy kept offsite such as in the cloud.		DA copy of data stored at a different physical location, such as cloud storage or another building, so a fire or flood at the main site does not destroy it.
5Original data + backup on the same server, both in the office		EServer room + backup drive in same room = onsite only
63 copies of data, all saved on external hard drives in the office		FKeep 3 copies of data on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy stored offsite so one disaster cannot destroy everything.

Definitions

3-2-1 rule

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

3-2-1 rule: _ copies of the data

3-2-1 rule: _ different types of media

3-2-1 rule: 1 copy stored _______

Backup in same building as data = ______

A fire hits the office; onsite copies fail Keep 1 copy in _____ storage

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A rule_copies = 2

B rule_media = 2

C rule_offsite = 1

Question 2

A disaster = 'office flood'

B onsite_backups = 'safe'

C offsite_backup = 'safe'

D print(offsite_backup)

Question 3

A copies ← 3

B IF copies > 3 THEN

C DISPLAY 'Add a backup'

D END IF

Question 4

A copies ← 3

B media ← 2

C offsite ← 1

D rule_met ← offsite = 0

Question 5

A media = ['disk', 'cloud']

B copies = 3

C if len(media) <= 1:

D print('Media rule met')

Answer Key

Backup storage locations and the 3-2-1 rule

Section A: Quick Questions

B — Both the data and the backup are lost, because the backup was stored onsite

B — Offsite or cloud storage in a different location

A — 3 copies of data, on 2 types of media, with 1 copy offsite

A — One copy stored offsite, such as in cloud storage

A — No. It has only 2 copies, on 1 type of media, and none offsite

Section B: Match the Pairs

3-2-1 rule → Keep 3 copies of data on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy stored offsite so one disaster cannot destroy everything.

Offsite backup → A copy of data stored at a different physical location, such as cloud storage or another building, so a fire or flood at the main site does not destroy it.

Backups kept only onsite are at risk because a single fire or flood could destroy both the original data and its copies. → Server room + backup drive in same room = onsite only

A plan that follows the 3-2-1 rule has 3 copies, on 2 types of media, with 1 copy kept offsite such as in the cloud. → Original + external drive + cloud backup

Original data + backup on the same server, both in the office → Both copies sit in the same location on the same device, so one disaster or hardware failure destroys the data and its backup. Keep at least one copy offsite, such as cloud storage.

3 copies of data, all saved on external hard drives in the office → There are 3 copies but only 1 media type and no offsite copy. The 3-2-1 rule needs 2 different media types and 1 copy stored offsite, for example in the cloud.

Section C: Definitions

3-2-1 rule — Keep 3 copies of data on 2 different types of media, with 1 copy stored offsite (such as cloud storage), so one disaster cannot destroy both the data and its backups.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of the data

3-2-1 rule: 2 different types of media

3-2-1 rule: 1 copy stored offsite

Backup in same building as data = onsite

A fire hits the office; onsite copies fail
Keep 1 copy in cloud storage

Section E: Spot the Error

A — The 3-2-1 rule starts with 3 copies of the data, not 2. The line should be rule_copies = 3.

B — A flood in the office would destroy onsite backups stored in the same building. That is why an offsite copy is needed. The line should be onsite_backups = 'destroyed'.

B — The warning to add a backup should appear when there are fewer than 3 copies. The broken line used > instead of <. It should be IF copies < 3 THEN.

D — The rule needs at least 1 offsite copy. Having 0 offsite copies means the rule is not met. It should be rule_met ← offsite >= 1.

C — The 3-2-1 rule needs at least 2 different types of media. The test should be len(media) >= 2, not <= 1, which would pass with only one media type.