Read on to discover how Microsoft 365’s data resiliency protects your data.
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage platform which is included with a Microsoft 365 subscription. OneDrive uses the same file platform as SharePoint and is built on top of it. Therefore, SharePoint’s security features automatically apply and are also available for OneDrive.
The core content storage of SharePoint has two main components; metadata and blob storage. The data resilience of Microsoft 365 depends on these two components.
In this article, we will explore how OneDrive helps to keep your data safe and secure. In this article, Sharepoint will be used to refer to both of these services.
Blob Storage Resilience
- In Azure Storage, SharePoint uses a custom solution for storing customer data. Each file is automatically and simultaneously written to two data centers, one at the primary region and the other at the secondary territory. If, for some reason, the file write to either region fails, the file save fails as well.
The checksums are stored separately with metadata and ensure that the file written in the secondary region is precisely identical to the one in the primary area. All workflows use this same technique to prevent corruption in files and file writes. A high level of reliability is offered via Azure Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) within each region.
- Microsoft uses an Append-Only storage technique to prevent the files from being corrupted after the initial save. This means that Microsoft can only add new blobs only when the old ones are deleted. Depending on administrator settings, the different versions of the same file can also be retrieved.
Metadata Resilience
- SharePoint metadata contains the access keys and locations of the content that the user in Azure Storage stores. The metadata is stored in an Azure SQL database with a comprehensive business continuity plan.
Azure’s SQL backup system uses a Point in Time Restore (PITR) system that allows data to be recovered for up to 14 days.
Automated Failover
- Microsoft uses an automated failover system to minimize the impact of a location-specific event on customer and user experience. If the system detects problems or errors that exceed a certain threshold, all work processes and user activity is rerouted out of the problematic environment and into a secondary setting.
Metadata and compute storage will be entirely served out of a new data center from the secondary environment. The system will prefer using the neared blob container but will also use local and remote blog storage locations to ensure availability.
File Restore and Versions
- The default setting in SharePoint for newly created libraries is 500 versions of each file. The settings can be adjusted to keep more versions if needed; however, a value lower than 100 is not permitted. If the system administrator deems it necessary, instead of changing the version’s worth, the system can be adjusted for the automatic deletion of files after a certain period.
Azure’s SQL allows any document library to go back to a point in time within the previous 30 days. This process is beneficial if a present-time event disrupts data or renders it inaccessible. These events include being infected with ransomware, mass file corruptions, mass deleting, or losing access to critical data.
Integrity Verification
SharePoint has a built-in system to verify the integrity of metadata and blobs during the data lifecycle. The hash of the entire file is stored with the file metadata to ensure data integrity is maintained during all work processes.
An integrity scan runs every 14 days, ensuring that each item in the database matches precisely with the listed blobs in Azure storage. If the scan detects any problems, the user is immediately alerted. Azure offers a storage soft-delete feature that helps recover missing storage blobs, thus making sure all user-saved data is safe and entirely usable.
- We at the Henson Group are a leading managed service provider (MSP) for Microsoft 365. We have a vast network of specialists and experts that can help you with your Microsoft 365 needs. Contact us today and let us help you get started with Microsoft 365.