Backup & Archive: Implementation Best Practices

Overview

Proper implementation of Backup & Archive is essential to ensure your Salesforce data is secure, recoverable, and resilient against loss or disaster. This guide outlines key best practices for planning, configuring, and maintaining a robust data protection strategy with Backup & Archive.

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Develop a Comprehensive Backup Strategy

• Define what data needs to be backed up and how often.

• Identify critical data (e.g., customer, financial, transactional) for high-frequency backups.

• Include procedures for testing and validating backup completeness.

• Align backup frequency with business continuity and RTO/RPO objectives.

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Understand Data Growth and Impact

• Monitor which data types are expanding (e.g., objects with frequent inserts/updates).

• Use Salesforce analytics tools (e.g., Einstein Analytics) to identify growth trends.

• Ensure storage infrastructure is scalable to accommodate future growth.

Classify data by criticality to determine backup cadence (daily, weekly, etc.).

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Use SSDs for Self-Hosted Cloud Environments

• If you deploy Flosum in a self-hosted environment, choose SSDs (Solid State Drives) over HDDs.

• SSDs offer significantly faster write speeds and reliability—critical for backup performance.

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Create and Automate a Backup Schedule

• Recommended cadence:

  • Full backup: Weekly

  • Delta backup: Daily (incremental)

• Align the schedule with your data volatility and compliance requirements.

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Set API Quotas for Initial Full Backups

• After org connection, go to Organization Settings and set:

  • REST API quota: 80–90%

  • Bulk API quota: 80–90%

• This allows the system to allocate maximum API capacity during the first full backup.

• After the initial backup, you can lower the quotas as delta backups are lighter.

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Test Backup and Restore Procedures Regularly

• Simulate recovery scenarios in sandbox or test environments.

• Validate that the restored data is complete and accurate.

• Document and refine your recovery process regularly.

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Develop a Disaster Recovery Plan

• Define a clear step-by-step plan for restoring backups.

• Include contact information for stakeholders and escalation paths.

• Review and test the plan quarterly or after major releases.

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Store Backups Securely

• Backup & Archive encrypts backups by default.

• Ensure access is limited to authorized users only.

• Use access controls and audit logs to track access events.

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Monitor Backup and Recovery Activity

• Use logs and success/failure reports to validate backup jobs.

• Set up alerts for failed or skipped jobs.

• Regularly review status reports to detect anomalies.

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Use Version Control for Historical Tracking

• Leverage version control within Backup & Archive to retain historical data states.

• Quickly restore previous versions of records when needed for audits or rollback scenarios.

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Integrate Backups into Change Management

• Configure Backup & Archive to trigger backups after key system changes.

• Supports compliance and rollback if a change introduces errors.

• Useful for deployments, CPQ changes, or regulatory data operations.

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Handle Refreshed Sandboxes Correctly

• A refreshed sandbox has a new Org ID and is treated as a new org.

• Reconnect the refreshed sandbox using Add Organization.

• Remove the obsolete org and its backup data to avoid confusion.

You will not be able to access backups from the previous sandbox after Salesforce deletes it.

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Use Multiple Backup Locations

• Store copies in both cloud and off-site environments.

• Helps protect against regional outages, physical damage, or ransomware.

• Backup redundancy enhances availability and supports compliance mandates.

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Restrict Access by Source IP

• Limit data access by configuring IP whitelisting at the infrastructure level (e.g., EC2 security groups).

• Helps ensure that only trusted IP addresses can retrieve or manage backup data.

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By following these best practices, organizations using Flosum Backup & Archive can dramatically reduce the risk of data loss, maintain compliance, and support high-availability disaster recovery plans. Whether deployed in a Flosum-hosted or self-hosted model, the recommendations in this guide help ensure secure, efficient, and reliable backup operations.