ProveRecovery

Backup verification

Restores a real file and a real service on a schedule, so a green job status stops standing in for a proven recovery.

Tools

Veeam, Cohesity, Jira Service Management, ServiceNow Security Operations

Outcomes

Every critical system has a tested restore • Recovery time measured, not estimated • Failed jobs caught before they matter • Recovery owner named per system tier

Documentation

Instruction-ready detail below

Backup consoles report success when the job ends, which says nothing about whether a file can be pulled back, so the real test tends to happen on the worst possible day. This workflow turns verification into a scheduled job that touches every protected system on a rotation. It restores a known file from the newest recovery point into an isolated area, checks that it opens and matches what the source system says it should contain, and on a slower cycle restores a whole representative server for each tier. It also opens the break-glass credentials a real recovery would depend on, and times every step separately, so the recorded recovery time is built from measurements instead of copied from a target. A job that passes on the console but fails on restore raises a ticket against the backup owner the same day, and a system with no passing result in ninety days is called out by name in the coverage report. A human still chooses the representative systems, signs off on the measured times, and decides which gaps are acceptable before an audit.

Problem this workflow solves

A backup console shows green because the job finished, not because anything came back, so the first time a file is genuinely needed the restore fails on a corrupted archive or a credential nobody has opened in a year. The IT admin discovers this during an incident, with the data already missing, and the evidence that backups were tested is a screenshot from a runbook that lists a plan rather than a result. Recovery time stays a number from a policy document rather than a measurement.

Download

Start with one instruction file.

Download the app and begin with drafts and checklists before you write anything back.

  • •Plain-language instructions
  • •Runs on your machine
  • •Works with your existing setup
  • •Reviewable activity history
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