Disaster Plan: Really a Business Continuity Plan
 Mishawaka,
IN. One effect of the September 11 attacks has been
to remind both top management and the IT departments of many
firms just how critical having redundant data and being prepared
for a disaster really is. "A significant percentage of
firms that experience major data loss never recover," says
Ron Davis, Account Executive at CompStar Technologies
Certainly, the most probable "disaster" for most
firms isn't a physical catastrophe like fire or explosion, but
rather hardware failure. More data has been lost to hard drive
crashes and corruption than tornados, floods, and fire combined,
experts say. Nevertheless, the events of recent weeks have shown
that firms have to be prepared for a variety of occurrences.
Clearly, the worst case scenario occurred for the firms which
saw complete destruction of their office facilities along with
the loss of key personnel. Other firms, while less dramatically
impacted, still found themselves coping with major IT problems.
Some lost key parts of their telecommunications infrastructure
for an extended period, while others had to cope with unexpected
facilities changes. One of the more unusual situations was experienced
by the Florida-based newspaper office that was found to be contaminated
with anthrax spores. Even though their office and IT infrastructure
was perfectly intact, they found themselves unable to use their
primary office facility for many weeks.
At the same time that the tumultuous terrorism-related events
were unfolding, there was a surge in damaging virus activity.
In particular, the Code Red worm spread to many web servers,
corrupting the content of web sites and other files.
The technical and management staff at CompStar Technologies,
has developed a list of preventative steps that can help
businesses keep operations running even when the unexpected
happens:
Backup, Backup, Backup! Backing up data is like flossing
- everyone agrees that it is important, but not everyone does
it, and even those who do aren't always as thorough as they
should be. Backups should be frequent, complete, and stored
off-site. Backup procedures should be reviewed frequently, and
the recoverability of data actually tested. The completeness
of data backup should be evaluated - common problems include
partial backups that save key data but make server restoration
a slower process and important data that is never backed up
because it is stored on a user's own hard drive. External data,
such as web sites housed on remote hosts, must also be part
of a backup plan.
Document Systems. Knowing what hardware and software
is in use, how to contact suppliers, where software source disks
are stored, etc. all make recovery from any kind of incident
or disaster much faster.
Maintain Virus and Hacker Protection. Effective virus
protection that is updated at least daily is no longer optional
- widespread use of e-mail allows viruses to spread worldwide
in hours. To add to the problem, it seems that the "payload"
of many newer viruses is getting more destructive. And, as more
networks connect to the Internet, strong firewall protection
is essential to keep hackers, 'bots, and other threats out of
the organization's network and computers. "They'll never
notice our little network," is no longer a workable assumption
- all types of scanners are constantly looking for system vulnerabilities
and testing every IP address they can find. A server being connected
to the Internet is likely to be compromised in hours if it has
insufficient protection. Keeping operating system and application
software up to date with all security patches is critical, too
- viruses like the Code Red worm took advantage of servers with
out-of-date software to spread worldwide.
Redundant Data. The more critical data is, and the more
frequently it is updated, the more important it is to have redundant
data that is immediately available. At its most elementary level,
this can be the mirroring or duplexing of data in the same server;
if the primary hard drive fails, the duplicate data will be
brought online automatically. A slightly more elaborate scheme
could have a redundant "hot" server in the same facility
that could take over for the primary server in the event of
any kind of failure. Clearly, though, the most effective forms
of redundant data are solutions where a second server at a remote
site is updated in real time. In the event that anything happens
to the primary facility - including dramatic and unexpected
events like fire, explosion, interruption of essential connections
(electricity, telephone, or Internet connection), or even willful
destruction by an employee or intruder, the backup server can
take over.
Large data centers may operate from multiple facilities with
complete data redundancies, or contract with disaster recover
firms capable of recreating the functionality of the original
data center in a matter of hours.
Plan for Disaster. In addition to the system documentation
described above, having an actual disaster plan can make the
difference between a rapid recovery process and minimal business
interruption and the alternative, prolonged recovery and loss
of customer relationships. Each business has its own needs,
but the minimal elements of such a plan would include full system
documentation, contact information for vendors and others that
would be needed in a recovery process, and a step-by-step plan
for system reconstruction and operation at a secondary facility
if the primary facility destroyed.
CompStar's Ron Davis points out that this process can have
benefits even if a company is never struck by fire or other
catastrophe. "Documenting the system and organizing key
information saves a lot of time even when minor problems occur.
Instead of trying to track down an employee that's on vacation
when an unexpected failure occurs, the business has all the
information to get the system running with minimum delay."
Disaster Planning and Recovery Information. For
videoconferencing information and a free site analysis,
e-mail us or complete the form below.
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CompStar Technologies is a leading Indiana-based provider of networking, technology, and communications services. With offices in Mishawaka (serving South Bend, Elkhart, Warsaw, Michigan City, Fort Wayne, Niles, St. Joseph, and Benton Harbor, Michigan) and Indianapolis, CompStar provides network design / support, network security, wireless networking, business telephone systems, VoIP (voice over IP), and cctv / video surveillance systems. CompStar is the Technology Division of Direct Line Communications, headquartered in Mishawaka, Indiana.
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