The Recycle Bin
Not usually thought of as a recovery and backup tool, the Recycle bin will often put a stop to that urgent e-mail panicked that something's gone wrong. This feature is on by default in central administration and has a two-stage deletion process during which users have a period of time to recover. The Recycle Bin can be turned on or off depending on the site, application, or user requirements. The beauty of this tool is that it lets users restore a deleted document, list, or library. Like all tools there are shortcomings; it doesn't cover deleted folders, sites, webs, corrupt items, views, and other issues.

Backup & Restore in Central Administration
If you want to protect your SharePoint Farm, individual Web applications, or components from disaster this is one place to start. This feature is new in SharePoint 2007 and is located on the SharePoint Central Administration Site. Browse to the Operations Page and locate the "Backup and Restore Section." It will let you back up individual components and your whole SharePoint Farm from a single interface. It also lets you recover to the same location or an alternate. It's important to note that Microsoft has said that you can back up but not restore the configuration database. This tool has shortcomings that may affect those who like to use the command line, run backups on a schedule, or provide the comfortable feelings of automation.

SharePoint Designer Backup
With SharePoint 2007 the replacement for FrontPage 2003 has been updated and renamed to SharePoint Designer 2007 (SPD). SharePoint Designer has a lot of new functionality but we will only touch on the backup and restore functionality. By using SPD a user or SharePoint administrator can back up a site to a single CMP file that contains all of the information for that site. This tool can be used prior to making that default change, running the test code, or making a wholesale one-way change. Using SPD you can restore the site to its previous state or restore to an alternate location or alternate Web farm. SPD backup is there to assist with site and site content but doesn't fit the bill for full farm or content database recovery. The steps for restoring the site to the same location will also require a deletion of the current site so all changes, updates, and new information will be lost. While a powerful asset in your arsenal, this tool needs to be understood for what it can do and where it comes up short.

STSADM Command-Line Tool (Windows SharePoint Services)
Look to the STSADM utility for a feature-driven, full-fidelity, command-line tool. It has over a 180 operations of which those having to do with backup and recovery are a subset. This tool can be called directly from the command line or rolled into a batch file to be scripted into a regularly running process. STSADM can back up and restore sites, site collections, Web apps, and services. It is constantly being enhanced and was updated when SharePoint 2007 SP1 was released. STSADM is not considered an interactive tool, so you'll need to enter all of the operations and parameters at once. This is one tool whose power and use will continue to grow along with the creativity of SharePoint; however, it may not be good in large enterprise installations. The granularity to which restores can be done may also need to be met with some other tools in your backup arsenal.

SQL Backup Tools
The backup tools included with SQL 2000 and SQL 2005 can be used to back up to the databases used in your SharePoint installation. These tools can be easily set up and scheduled to run full backups on a regular basis. Microsoft has noted that if the desire for your search database and shared service provider database are synchronized with your content databases then you'll either have to use the Central Administration or STSADM tool. The SQL Restore procedures can only be used to restore entire content databases, not a single site or site collection.

Volume Shadow Copy Service
The Volume Copy Shadow Service was first introduced in Windows XP and Windows 2003. VSS is a framework that will let you define, persist, and exploit a point-in-time copy of storage data. The Windows SharePoint Services VSS Writer was introduced in WSS 3.0 and SharePoint 2007. This service will enable a requestor to ask a SharePoint front-end Web server for a VSS backup. This service will require the user to write the necessary code to take advantage of this new service.

Third-Party Tools
The market for third-party backup and recovery tools is growing at a rapid pace. The list of vendors is growing and diverse and includes Microsoft, Veritas, AvePoint, Commvault, and Quest to name a few. Each of these vendors is attempting to bring enhancements and management to the table where native tools may not meet organizations' backup and recovery needs. Consider the level of recovery, management interface, automation, and reporting requirements when looking outside the native toolset.

Four Thoughts to SharePoint Recovery Success
SharePoint recovery is no longer an option as more and more of an organizations' data is housed on this powerful application platform. With the movement beyond a simple collaboration environment one should consider the four strategies below in forming a cohesive strategy. The real recipe for SharePoint recovery is to design and test for eventual need so that any event becomes a non-event.

Consider these four high-level thoughts for managing SharePoint recovery:

1. To what granular level would your organization want to recover to?
   a.  Farm
   b.  Site Collection
   c.  Site
   d.  Library
   e.  List
   f.  Document
   g.  Version
   
2. What level of importance does SharePoint play in your organization?
   a.  Business Critical
   b.  Departmental Critical
   c.  Business Need
   d.  Business Desire
   
3. What would be the level of impact if SharePoint data is lost?
4. What can be done right now to mitigate the risk?

While there's no easy answer when approaching SharePoint from a recovery standpoint the tools and features described above should give you some indication of where to start. Using the native tools or purchasing a third-party add-on shouldn't be something an organization considers after an event but before the next disaster.