by Brian Harrison, Peninsula Computer Solutions Ltd. –
In Part 1 we offered the first five suggestions to protect your business in the event of a disaster: conduct an assessment; work with a trusted partner to disaster proof data and systems; define what an acceptable recovery time is and choose the right storage media; create a disaster recovery plan, and test it; and make sure sensitive data is properly encrypted.
So let’s continue with a few more suggestions to protect your business and protect your information.
Regularly backup and snapshot data. No strategy will work if you haven’t set up automatic backups. Whether it is to one of your corporate data centres, or the cloud, be sure that all critical data is backed up on a schedule that protects your business from downtime in the event of a disaster.
Take real snapshot backups, not just RAID mirroring or database replication. If someone or something issues a command to overwrite or delete data, intentionally or otherwise, your RAID controller or database replication will dutifully delete it from the mirrors as well.
Make sure critical applications are also accessible. Protecting your data is not enough if you want to keep the business running during an event that causes downtime Ensure critical applications can be accessed or restored quickly so that your employees keep productive.
Follow the 3-2-1 rule. If an enterprise wants truly disaster-proof data, it needs to follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of the data, stored on two different kinds of media, with one of them stored offsite. By following the rule, it eliminates any single point of failure.
Keep backups off site, in a safe location. How far off site depends on the risks. If your data centre is in Victoria and a major earthquake knocks out all your infrastructure, then it doesn’t do any good if your backups are in an “off site” facility in Colwood, the next town over. Consider the threats and plan appropriately.
Test for recovery, and test again. It’s all about the recovery! All the backups in the world cannot save you if you can’t recover. So test then test some more. Do random recoveries each week. Do disaster recovery testing and verify your backups. Always be sure you can recover your data.
A Final Thought. Seriously review your business and how much your reliance is on the data and computer systems you use. If tomorrow we took away ALL your computers and all your information, could your business survive, or would you be out of business ? No insurance company can restore your lost information.
For more information visit www.peninsula-computer.com.
