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 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?