This guide explains how backups work in FITsociety, what to expect after data loss and how recovery is performed.

In this article

1. What do RPO and RTO mean?

2. How backups work in FITsociety

3. How quickly data can be restored

4. What happens to deleted data

5. Restoring data: how does it work?

1) What do RPO and RTO mean?

RPO (Recovery Point Objective)
This is the maximum amount of data you could lose during an incident.

Within FITsociety:

• Maximum ±1 hour of data loss

RTO (Recovery Time Objective)
This is how quickly the service is restored.

Within FITsociety:

• Recovery within ±1 to 2 hours, depending on the incident

2) How backups work in FITsociety

FITsociety automatically makes multiple backups of all data:

• Hourly backups (last 2 days)

• Daily backups (30 days)

• Weekly backups (5 weeks)

• Monthly backups (3 months)

Additionally:

• Backups are stored daily in a second AWS region (within the EU)

• These are retained for 7 days

This keeps data safe even during larger outages.

3) How quickly can data be restored?

In most cases:

• Small errors → recovery within a few minutes to hours

• Larger incidents → recovery within 1 to 2 hours

Important:

• Recovery is always controlled to ensure data consistency

4) What happens to deleted data?

When you delete data:

• It is immediately removed from the active environment

• It may temporarily remain in backups

• It is automatically removed once the retention period expires

Backups:

• Are not directly accessible

• Are used only for recovery

Accidentally removed a member? Restore them by adding the member again with the same email address, rather than through a backup. See "Why does a member added again not appear in the member overview immediately?". Only request recovery through support if data is still missing afterwards.

5) Restoring data: how does it work?

Backups are intended for disaster recovery, rather than individual actions.

This means:

• Data restoration is not automatically

• Restoration of specific data is possible on request

• This is performed by the FITsociety team

Important:

• Recovery requests are assessed for impact and feasibility

• Restoring data may incur costs, depending on the request's complexity

Summary

• Backups are created automatically at multiple levels

• Maximum data loss: ±1 hour

• Recovery time: ±1–2 hours

• Data can always be deleted immediately

• Data can be restored, but this is not a standard action and may incur costs

Frequently asked question

Can I restore a backup myself?
No, FITsociety always performs this to prevent errors and data loss.

Good to know

Backups are a safety net for emergencies.
For daily use and management of your data, always work in the live environment.