Preparing for the Worst
Companies must identify and manage the unique circumstances
associated with potentially disastrous situations so
that they can resume business-as-usual in a timely way.
Karl Hamlin, an information technology project manager
and specialist in disaster recovery, has developed a
practical formula to help companies prepare for and
react to unforeseen circumstances. Here are the key
areas he emphasizes for Disaster Recovery Planning:
Management awareness
First and most important step is to evaluate each function
within the organization, focusing on the impact that
a disaster might have on the business from a financial
and physical perspective.
The analysis should cover the effects of data loss
and communication disruption with employees, suppliers
and customers. By anticipating examples of possible
disasters, e.g., fire, storm, water, earthquake, chemical
accidents, war, terrorist attacks, etc., you can start
prioritizing the most probable causes, risks and associated
impact.
Disaster recovery planning
Key elements include: establishing a planning group;
performing risk assessment and audits; establishing
priorities for your network and applications; developing
recovery strategies; preparing an up-to-date inventory
and documentation of the plan; and developing verification
criteria and procedures.
 Resiliency
and backup services
Assessing the resiliency of the technical infrastructure
and evaluating the available backup services. Cisco
defines network resiliency as "the ability to recover
from any network failure or issue, whether it is related
to a disaster, link, hardware, design or network service."
Network connections are critical. All data and voice
communication depends on the availability of technical
resources, so it's essential to identify gaps and potential
risks. Identifying and testing backup services periodically
is also critical.
Vendor support services
Having support services readily available from your
major vendors adds considerable weight to your DRP.
This involves having support contracts in place, the
DRP reviewed by vendors, and making sure the vendors
themselves have sufficient resources to support your
DRP.
The most critical aspect of business continuation is
being able to resume communications quickly. Because
access to employees, customers and vendors is primarily
accomplished through the technology network, it must
be protected.
Backing Up Isn’t Hard to Do
Typically, operating system information is static and
does not need to be backed up as frequently as accounts
payable and accounts receivable, client bases and e-mail
files. There are many types of backup routines, but
the most common is the one-tape-per-day ritual. A full
backup is performed on Monday, with an incremental on
Tuesday through Thursday and another full backup on
Friday. Thus, if a failure occurs, only one day's worth
of data is at risk.
Most people recycle ten day's worth of tapes,
but this can be a big mistake. A fire, theft or malicious
departing employee can cause big trouble, so having
two copies of the backup is advisable, with one stored
at an off-site location.
If you have a small business, you may want to consider a LTO-2L backup system with Veritas Backup Exec software. The drives and media are inexpensive (drives run approximately $1300-$1500 and tapes $30-$40 each and hold approx. 200/400 GB of data) and are fairly quick. these tape drives have much higher throughput speeds than tape backups from the past.
Mid-size networks that require greater speed and capacity should consider LTO-3 backup solution that offer twice the capacity of the LTO-2L and has higher throughput speeds. The LTO-3 with 400/800 GB of storage costs approximately $2800 - $3000.
Once you have selected your backup system, have a plan
in place to test your process and the integrity of the
data on your backup. It is important to rotate the media
and store a copy off-site. It is also a good idea to
train several people in your office on the process.
A data crash may be inevitable, but with proper planning,
the road to recovery can be safe and smooth.
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