Master of Disaster Revisited

It has been a few years since my article, “Master of Disaster” was published by Manufacturing Systems Technology.  This article was a basic primer, offering step-by-step recovery planning for the SMB.  Since then, much has changed in the industry and I would like to address these changes.

In each IT engagement in which I consult, it has become more apparent that disaster recovery plays an increasingly significant role.  With the cost of High Availability servers and communications lines decreasing and the need for rapid disaster recovery increasing, many enterprises that in the past did not consider rapid recovery solutions, today are realizing their value and implementing them. 

In a High Availability environment, updates from the production server (called the source) are mirrored to the backup server (called the target).  The High Availability Software provides the synchronization services. 

Today, with many enterprises being geographically dispersed, the need for a dedicated Disaster Recovery Facility to host the “hot backup” is not required.  In some instances, the backup system may perform more than just a backup, it may also support development.  With the advent of commercial data centers that provide such features as high speed connectivity and security, the cost of hosting servers at these facilities may prove to be economically attractive.

High Availability is just one aspect of Disaster Recovery.  A backup architecture is also necessary which in many cases may be tiered. The storage media and recovery time are staged, with the costs reduced as the staging times increases.

Network disaster recovery must be addressed when developing or enhancing a Disaster Recovery Plan.  Without the ability to access systems, a Disaster Plan is useless and could prove to be catastrophic.

When developing a comprehensive Disaster Plan, it is imperative to provide the human resources necessary to run the enterprise in a disaster scenario.

To establish or update a comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan, the use of outside resources is often necessary and employing experienced consultants will ensure its success. Ada Business Technology LLC., http://www.AdaBusTech.com, is primed and ready to support your Disaster Recovery Planning.