Salesforce data recovery means recovering databases from a backup-recovery catalog, which uses metadata from the backup files to recover and rebuild all of the objects and data in a Force.com organization.
What are the benefits of using Salesforce Data Recovery
Fast and simple restore
By using metadata, Salesforce Data Recovery recovers entire database(s) without requiring the original storage structure or individual backups to be restored first. This allows for faster restores as well as reduced costs as it is not necessary to purchase additional storage hardware.
Point-in-Time restore
Salesforce data recovery allows you to target a given point in time within your backup retention window. This can be done without having to recover all other backups. Salesforce Data Recovery also allows for selective object-level restores, which reduces restore time and storage requirements even further.
Recovery without downtime:
Salesforce Data Recovery doesn’t require your organization to be shut down during the recovery process. This means that you can continue serving your users with no loss in productivity or data while recovery is happening.
Read-only mode
Metadata from backup is used so there is no need to copy any source files. This ensures that access to production data remains uninterrupted during the recovery process which helps avoid costly mistakes and assists system admins who don’t have read/write permissions on production systems.
No availability issues
Because metadata is used for the restore, Salesforce Data Recovery does not rely on production storage and can complete the restore even if the production storage is unavailable.
Recovery while exporting data
This feature allows you to recover while continuing to export data from your production system which ensures no loss of revenue due to downtime.
Solutions to Data Recovery
There are two options for restoring your metadata and data, which depend on whether you want to rebuild your database(s) in the same or a different environment:
Restore to existing production organization
This option allows you to restore metadata and data directly into your existing organization without impacting production users. For this process, we recommend using an isolated network and servers (we call them “sandboxes”) that mirror those of your original organization as closely as possible.Restore to a new organization If you don’t have another environment that can recover even if the source database is offline or otherwise not accessible.
What are the limitations of Salesforce Data Recovery?
Metadata based approach means that there will be some differences between recovered objects and production ones. The more customized objects in your org, the greater chance of difference(s), although these should typically be cosmetic such as field values etc (ie. object definitions should still be intact)
Metadata is generally only captured at the object level, meaning that field values are not captured during backup. This approach does have limitations so it is important to be aware of what these are prior to using Salesforce Data Recovery.
Restore may take longer due to the increased time required for database creation once data has been restored.No locking mechanism is used by Salesforce Data Recovery, which means that if multiple restores are taking place concurrently there is a chance of data corruption occurring. It is recommended that you perform restores in an isolated environment with no other activity happening on the system(s). Note that this type of restore should be completed within a period of 24-hours because, after this point, data is written to the database, and locking occurs.
Restore will not work if there are conflicts with any existing objects within your original organization, including those that have been auto-deleted.
Restore will not work where the source database has been upgraded beyond your backup retention window. You can use Salesforce Data Recovery to recover data from a pre-upgrade backup only.
Salesforce is a CRM (customer relationship management) software cloud-based solution headquartered in San Francisco, California. Salesforce deals with the following issues regularly:
– Lost data due to sync errors
– Corruption of data during import or export
– Deletion of records by mistake/error
Salesforce uses various storage systems for its customer data, including Oracle, IBM DB2, SQL Server, File System, and Object Storage. Of course, each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Still, it’s essential to know that Salesforce will do everything possible to ensure your data is backed up frequently with built-in replication schemes. However, any storage you use for your backups must be checked regularly to become corrupt. Salesforce Data Recovery is a valuable and necessary service to get the best customer care/support for your business.
Salesforce has its support team under the name of Salesforce Disaster Recovery (SDR) that helps with data recovery related issues such as:
– Get deleted records back from SFDC
– Restore backup data files that have become corrupt or unreadable by SFDC.
– Check if files on an Object Storage device are accessible and recoverable before you connect it again to SFDC.
Data recovery process
Salesforce Data Recovery usually consists of the following steps:
Open a case online with the SDR team to discuss your problem and provide details about your issue. SDR will then send you an email for more information if needed or allow you to schedule a call with them. Once they have reviewed all the required information, they will provide you with specific instructions on how best to recover your records back in SFDC, depending on which storage system is used for data backups in your organization.
Here is a Salesforce Data Recovery Case Study to note – A customer had a storage failure that resulted in lost data from their SFDC instance. The failed storage system was an older model and not supported by Salesforce to get their data back at any cost. However, after a long process of emailing back and forth with SDR, they could come up with a solution that involved uploading backup files to Object Storage for retrieval via the SFDC metadata recovery tool. This meant they could reuse existing backups instead of restoring them locally before using the SFDC metadata replace technique.