Prove a backup restores, and how long the restore took.
A backup nobody has restored is a hope. A scheduled plan restores the latest backup onto a scratch host, runs a smoke test and removes the copy, and the record keeps the result and the time to restore every time the plan runs.
The restore record
A restore that worked, with the time it took.
This is the third record on the evidence page. The time from the first step to the passing test is the figure a client or an auditor asks for.
Restore test /db-01 to restore-01
Sample
- Backup
- 2026-10-11 02:00
- Started
- 2026-10-11 03:00:04
- Result
- Passed
- Time to restore
- 4m 10s
- 1Pick the latest backup of db-012s
- 2Restore onto restore-013m 41s
- 3Start the database18s
- 4Smoke test: table and row counts match9s
- 5Remove the scratch copy6s
The requirement it answersRegulation (EU) 2024/2690, point 4.2.6
“carry out regular testing of the recovery of backup copies ... shall document the results of the tests”
The record proves a restore. It does not show that backups are made, or how recent they are.
What the plan does
Four steps, timed and kept.
- Pick the latest backup
- The plan finds the newest backup of the source server and names it in the record.
- Restore onto a scratch host
- The backup goes onto a host kept for the purpose, never onto the source. The service is started, and each step is timed.
- Run a smoke test
- A check that the restored service answers, for example that table and row counts match. The result is the pass or the fail.
- Remove the scratch copy
- The copy is deleted, and the record keeps the result, each step and the time from the first step to the passing test.
Who asks
The question arrives from three directions.
- A contract or an insurer
- Asks for proof that a backup restores, and how long that takes.
- An auditor
- Samples a restore test and looks for the result, the date and who ran it.
- A client questionnaire
- Asks whether recovery is tested. The answer pack shows what the record gives for it and where the answer is your own document.
Put a restore test on a schedule.
Tell us what you back up and where it restores to. You get a demo and your price in writing within one business day, with no call.