November 2009

Network

Disaster Recovery

October 2014

What is it?

• A procedure designed to prepare an organization to respond to an interruption of network services during a natural, technological or human in sighted disasters.

Business Impact Analysis

• Estimate disruption impact• Identify critical business systems• Identify system resource dependencies• Determine resource recovery priority• Identify key support personnel or teams

Design Networks Around Recovery

• Alternative work site and data center• How and where will staff work • Equipment that will need to be replaced• What data needs to be backed up and when• What redundancies need to be in place• Applications and services that are suitable

for SaaS (Software as a Service)

• Systems that can be virtualized• Alternative methods to communicate with

staff and business partners• Are technical vendors capable of supporting

a disaster situation• Where are backups and documentation

currently stored

Document Your Network and Systems

• Diagram your current network • Identify your critical systems and their

dependencies• Document• Application Configurations, Versions and Patches• Device Configurations, OS Versions and

Firmware• Equipment make, model, serial numbers

• Should be automated when possible and current

Decide on a Recovery Model

• Cold Sites• Equipment is not installed• Recovery time of several days

• Warm Sites• Equipment is installed but not up to date• Data is restored from backups• Recovery time of 1-2 days

• Hot Sites• Equipment is installed• Relies on replication• Data is current• Recovery times in minutes

Establish a Backup Strategy

• What data needs to be backed up• System State (Operating System)• Applications• Databases• Email• User and business related data

• How often should I perform backups• Weekly • Daily • Real-Time

• How long should I keep my backups• Weekly backups = 2 Months• Daily backups = 30 Days• Monthly = 12 Months

• Available backup Options• Tape Drives• Hard Drives• Mirrors or Replication• Cloud

Consider utilize at least two backup Strategies

Tape Drives

• Pros• Inexpensive• Suitable for long term storage• Mobile

• Cons• Slow to recover• Can be difficult to implement• Reliability• Requires a tape drive at your alternative data

center

Hard Drives

• Pros• Reliability• Faster backup and recovery• Basic support provided with operating systems• Easily expanded as your network grows

• Cons• Twice as expensive as tapes• May require dedicated software and servers• Not suitable for archiving

Mirror or Replication

• Pros• Reliability• Highly accessible• The backup is clean and does not contain old and

obsolete files• Data is saved in real time

• Cons• If a file is deleted it may also be deleted on the

backup• Recommended to be used in conjunction with

other backup techniques

Cloud Backup

• Pros• Reliability• Highly accessible• No hardware or software purchase required• Ideal for business with no technical staff

• Cons• Expensive• Slow recovery time • Requires an internet connection• Security*

The Disaster Recovery Plan• Disaster plans should be written as action

scripts• Prepare recovery procedures for each

individual system and network• Bring critical systems up first• Plans should utilize automation whenever

possible• Programmed scripts• Server implemented processes

• Include • Standard workstation image• Software installation media• Vendor contact information• Security information (certificates and encryption

keys)• System configuration and application

documentation

• Have multiple copies available• Store required documentation, hardware, and

backups off site• Design with failback in mind

Test the Recovery Plan

• Role play different scenarios with key personnel• Check your backups integrity• Plans need to be tested at a minimum of once per

year with a recommendation of every 6 months

Questions?