Using Sandbox to backup data

[Greg Williams]

We had a use case where a customer "accidentally" deleted a high-level Initiative ticket (above the Epic) and children, and they had access to the sandbox for testing purposes and wanted to have us export that sandbox ticket group as a backup "last saved" copy of that Initiative. Even though the sandbox was last copied 2 months ago they were happy to have some record of the progress.

We have taken steps to prevent this deletion from occurring for this user's project (permission scheme was set to allow most user roles the ability to delete issues) and we are now contemplating taking one of our two available sandboxes and using it to perform regular copies to have as a means of "backing up" the data from the Production instance as a last resort. 

Has anyone else used their sandbox as a "backup" location for such purposes?

We would still use it for testing of new add-ons or automation processes, and I know this is not best practice for data preservation or retention, but as a means of keeping the sandbox up to date with the latest information from PROD is this a possible means of salvaging potentially lost data?

[vikram]

@Greg Williams 

In general IT practice 

we have 3 pillars as

Development Environment (also people called as Sandbox) -- This environment is mostly used for all POC's, new implementations, new integrations, new upgrades, new patches, new plugin installation's etc.., to play around for new things to implement.  In this environment we provide admin access to lot of users, so that they can play around. This environment is refreshed based on organizations policy for every one month or quarterly where PROD data will be replicated (as per compliance) so that it will be identical to PROD.

Acceptance Environment -- Which same as replication of PROD, where the environment is limited to limited admins, once any new implementation or POC is successful in Dev, then it is implemented in this environment with capturing evidence's so that, we can get approvals to implement the same in PROD. 

PRODUCTION Environment -- Its real time data, limited admins and no other users can implement any new things in this environment.  

I would say having sandbox as backup for data retention is not good and it is not a best practice. 

If you do not have any other backup policy or backup machine, and if you want to make the sandbox as backup that is fine, unless you do not provide any admin permission to any other users.  And you cannot utilize it for any other purpose of POC or for new implementation or play around with data or application.

Vikram P

[Jehan Bhathena]

Hi @Greg Williams ,

Has anyone else used their sandbox as a "backup" location for such purposes?

Yes, I have used this at one instance, but it was a risky take. Coping Production data is a simple click away, and all your current data will be wiped out.

We would still use it for testing of new add-ons or automation processes, and I know this is not best practice for data preservation or retention, but as a means of keeping the sandbox up to date with the latest information from PROD is this a possible means of salvaging potentially lost data?

It can always be used to salvage data, if you've lost something on PROD but is available from Sandbox, but that would be a huge IF, then yes, it would be a big win to restore it. If you're still using the same sandbox for testing, there is no guarantee that you won't edit the issue while testing, or the plugin might not change the issue. Re-iterating my previous point, the biggest risk is someone from your Org Admins taking a fresh prod copy.

TLDR;

If you intend to use the Sandbox for backups then don't use it for anything else. If you're using for Testing then don't use it for Back ups or rely on them for Backups.

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As a suggestion I would highly recommend setting up a backup process in place, or using a plugin like https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1228694/revyz-data-manager-for-jira-backup-restore-sandbox?hosting=cloud&tab=overview to backup your site data if the ticket information is that critical. Would also, suggest revisiting your permissions to revoke Delete access from anyone other than site-admins.

[Daria Kulikova_GitProtect_io]

Hello @Greg Williams ,

Using a sandbox as a backup is a temporary and partial solution. It allows recovery of data from the last sync, but it is not a reliable or comprehensive method for data preservation. 

disaster recovery.

For a more secure approach, it's better to use a dedicated backup tool, like GitProtect (https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1228719/gitprotect-io-backups-for-jira-cloud?hosting=cloud&tab=overview) 

Thanks,

Daria