This document discusses best practices for improving backup and recovery of Oracle Exadata databases. It recommends using the Sun ZFS Backup Appliance for fast, direct backups of Exadata to disk using RMAN, and then optionally copying backups to tape for long term storage. Using the Sun ZFS Backup Appliance avoids the need to change current backup procedures, provides end-to-end data integrity checking, and allows restoring data directly from disk for the fastest recovery times. Oracle support services are also discussed.