Create Your First Salesforce Backup

Learning Objectives

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Identify the required user settings for configuring backups.
  
• Explain the different types of backups.
  
• List the data types that cannot be included in backups.
  

Set the Stage for Success

Now that you understand what Backup & Recover can do for your organization, it's time to dive into the practical aspects of setting up and configuring your backup strategy.

Nina Brown, the Salesforce Administrator at Cloudy College, is preparing for their initial backup implementation. Having convinced the executive team of the need for a comprehensive backup solution, she now faces the task of configuring it properly. Let's follow Nina's journey as she works through the planning and configuration process.

User Settings and Permissions Requirements

For Backup & Recover to function properly, you need to configure the appropriate user settings and permissions.

Required User Profile and Permissions

It is best practice to connect your Backup & Recover service to your Salesforce org through the Salesforce API with a dedicated Authenticated User account. Use this dedicated service account exclusively for backup operations and assign to the account whatever permissions are required to access all of the data in the org.

The required permission sets for an authenticated user depend on the specific implementation. For optimal security and performance, the Authenticated User should have the following permissions.

• System Administrator profile (or a cloned version with equivalent permissions)
  
• API Enabled permission (this is a mandatory permission)
  
• Modify All Data permission and its dependent permissions
  
• Read and Edit access to all Standard and Custom objects, fields, and record types
  
• The "API Only User" permission enabled via profile or permission set
  

Your organization’s specific implementation might require additional authenticated user permissions, such as Password Never Expires, View Encrypted Data, or View All Custom Settings.

Nina creates a dedicated Authenticated User account called "Backup Service User" at Cloudy College with these permissions. She ensures that the IP addresses for the Backup & Recover application are allowlisted in their Salesforce org, and documents this account in their organizational security policies.

Authentication and Connection Setup

After you've set up the appropriate user account, you need to establish a secure connection between Salesforce and Backup & Recover. To establish a secure connection, set up OAuth authentication, configure IP range restrictions, and ensure proper connected app setup.

Nina implements multi-factor authentication (MFA) policies for all admin users at Cloudy College but excludes the backup service account since it's a headless system account that requires constant, uninterrupted access to perform backups.

Backup Types

You use Backup & Recover to run these types of backups:

Full Backups

Your first backup is a full backup that includes all of the data in your org. Subsequent to your first backup, full backups are performed weekly. You can allow Backup & Recover to decide on which day to run a full backup, or you can define the day that works best for your organization. For example, many organizations run their full backups on the least busiest day of the week. 

Synthetic Full Backups

Synthetic full backups are daily backups. These backups ensure that a recent copy of your critical information is always available. Synthetic full backups capture only the changes that have occurred since the previous backup. These incremental changes are then merged with the last full or synthetic backup. This approach reduces runtime while providing the benefits of a full backup for faster recovery.

On-Demand Backups

You can initiate a backup at any time. On-demand backups are useful before and after significant changes, such as deployments, mass record updates, or migrations, facilitating the immediate capture of data at specific points in time.

Nina implements a strategy at Cloudy College that includes daily synthetic full backups during the week, a full backup every Saturday, and additional on-demand backups before major system changes or updates.

Data Compatibility and Exclusions

Backup & Recover is designed to comprehensively back up your Salesforce data, including standard and custom objects and fields, files, Chatter feeds and attachments. Metadata components are also included via the Metadata Backup Service. However, there are specific data types that you cannot back up. Objects that aren’t queryable or fully supported by the API, such as AccountUserTerritory2View, LoginAsEvent, and ActivityMetric, are excluded from backups.

By default, Backup & Recover excludes knowledge articles and custom big objects, though you can configure your backup to include them. This flexibility enables you to optimize backup duration, enhance data security, or streamline your backup based on your specific needs.

Protected Data Handling

Backup & Recover treats protected data with special care. Personally identifiable information maintains field-level security settings, sensitive information retains proper access controls, and encrypted fields remain encrypted during backup and recovery. For example, if you have financial information that is encrypted in Salesforce, that encryption is maintained throughout the backup process.

Backup Timing and Accessibility

Understanding the practical aspects of backup timing helps set realistic expectations for implementation. Your first backup typically takes longer than subsequent ones because it must capture all your data. Several factors influence this initial backup duration, including the total data volume in your organization, the number of different objects you're backing up, and the concurrent activities (system load) in your organization.

To reduce overall backup times and improve recovery speed, the backup process for data is separate from the backup process for files. This separation enables data backups to finish first, facilitating recovery processes while files continue to backup in the background. Each backup tile conveniently displays two statuses, enabling you to track the progress and status of both data and file backups, including any warnings. By default, the primary status shown on each tile represents the data backup status.

Nina and the Cloudy College team now have a solid backup strategy in place, with appropriate settings, realistic expectations for backup duration, and a clear understanding of which data is included and excluded from their backups.