Success with Remote Data Recovery™

Data loss can happen to anyone and usually without warning. The Remote Data Recovery™ service uses patented technology and trained engineers to allow us to recover data right on your server, desktop or laptop through an Internet connection or a modem. Remote Data Recovery is an excellent option especially for server recoveries because there is no need to dismantle and ship your drive or hardware in for service – which can be very challenging for server recoveries due to security and shipping costs. It also eliminates shipping time which is of the essence when a server is inaccessible.

This article will highlight specific instances in which Remote Data Recovery (RDR ®) saved the day.

Success Story #1 - A customer was migrating data to a new storage array when an OS error corrupted the volume. Remote Data Recovery was the only solution due to time restrictions. Success Story #2 - While expanding volume by adding LUN the LVM configuration became corrupted. RDR recovered and copied out the inaccessible data.

While ideal for servers, Remote Data Recovery is also ideal for other media ranging from flash drives to floppy drives to desktops and laptops. This next success story outlines how RDR was able to recover multiple laptop users’ data just in time.

Success #3 - A Login Script for mobile users began reinstalling the OS and 300 users were affected. RDR ® connected 30 laptop drives at a time. Emergency service and European engineers completed the recovery in four days.

Remote Data Recovery can truly be an around the clock service. Ontrack can utilise our domestic and International locations to complete remote jobs quickly and efficiently.
We’ve outlined how RDR can help solve data loss situations, but how does Remote Data Recovery really work? Here is a behind the scenes look at how we utilise Remote Data Recovery to recover lost data.

Ontrack Remote Data Recovery consists of three main components:

1) Communications Client – The customer initiates a connection to an Ontrack RDR Server using the specially designed RDR QuickStart™ software. The software is available in a form native to your operating system and also in a self-booting diskette for situations in which the operating system is not bootable. After initiating the application the customer selects the mode of communication, which can include a direct modem or Internet connection.

2) RDR Server – Once the connection is established to the Ontrack Server it is distributed to the next available Remote Data Recovery engineer in any of our worldwide locations.

3) RDR Workstation – A specially designed application allows the RDR engineer to run advanced data recovery tools on the computer system that lost data. Before beginning the recovery process, the engineer enables proprietary technologies that track and backup all changes that will be made to the system. This process provides the engineer with the ability to complete the recovery “virtually” before any changes are made to the system. Any changes made can be reversed or modified in order to provide the most complete recovery possible.

With security identified as a major concern, Remote Data Recovery implements several secure elements to help keep your data safe. Remote Data Recovery uses Port80 TCP/UDP and the client software initiates the connection, not Ontrack. Ontrack also uses proprietary communication protocol and packets which are encrypted using your IE encryption libraries.

So whether you have a single flash drive with family holiday photos or a server filled with thousands of user’s files (like the success story below), Remote Data Recovery can help you get access to your data again.

Success Story #4 - A MS Exchange Information Store with 3,000 mailboxes was corrupted. In an attempt to remedy the situation the Exchange repair tool was used, but it ran for days with no end in sight. RDR recovered and copied out the mailboxes in just 2.5 days.

Your data recovery specialist will help determine which recovery method best suits your data loss situation. If you have any questions about data recovery or the options available, please do not hesitate to contact our experienced staff.