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What is the 3-2-1 backup rule?

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3-2-1: three copies of the data, on two different media, one of them off-site. The modern 3-2-1-1-0 variant adds an immutable copy (anti-ransomware) and zero verified restore errors.

The 3-2-1 rule is the universal baseline of data protection: 3 copies (production + 2 backups), on 2 different media types (to avoid the same failure), with 1 kept off-site — typically in a second data center.

The ransomware-hardened version is 3-2-1-1-0: the added 1 requires an immutable or offline copy (immutable = unchangeable for a set period, WORM; air-gap = physically isolated), and the 0 requires zero verified restore errors — because a backup that is never tested is not a backup.

It is the building block of a real BCP/DRP: the off-site copy becomes the starting point of recovery on another site, with a measurable RTO/RPO. Without an immutable off-site copy, ransomware or a single disaster wipes out everything.

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