OK for mini-event, but . . .
by
jglenncrp
·
about 18 years, 5 months ago
In reply to Incorporate “problem” applications in your DR plan
Mike Talon’s advice (follows) is OK for a mini-event, but for an event of any magnitude, it will be a disaster within a disaster.
Mike wrote:
“So what can you do in these situations? Your best bet is to create backup hardware in your DR data center and configure it as closely as you can to the solution in the primary data center. Make sure you keep copies of the installation media for your applications in the DR data center, preferably in some form of fire-proof media safe.
“In the same safe, you should also keep copies of the tapes that correspond to your recovery point objective. For example, if you can only afford to lose 24 hours of data, you need to keep a copy of last night’s tape in the safe–not an easy feat but definitely possible.”
If the data center is destroyed, the “backup hardware in your DR data center” also is gone. Likewise, the “copy of last night’s tape in the safe” is gone or inaccessible.
As with most IT-centric plans, the planner fails to see all of the service interruption possibilities. Flooding is the most common risk (even if caused by sprinklers triggered by a fire).
If IT is that critical – and it some cases it IS “that critical,” arrange for an alternate site as a backup facility. This can be anyplace with sufficient capacity to keep the business-critical processes functioning. A development center with a little extra capacity (development priority is zero following a disaster event), another data center within the organization, even a neighbor’s data center in a non-competing business. Of course there always are commercial sites.
John Glenn, MBCI, CRP
Certified Business Continuity Planner
http://johnglenncrp.0catch.com/
