IT Infrastructure Recovery Plan

Template

Template Overview
The purpose of this IT Infrastructure Disaster Recovery Plan Template is to guide you through the
development of the steps and procedures necessary to successfully recover from a disruption at the
primary data center.
This fully editable and customizable template helps jumpstart your planning effort by offering sample
content. Edit the content as needed to customize this plan to your organization and unique needs.

Catalyst Automates Your Program

This template is from Catalyst business continuity software. Take a look at the last page of this document if
youre interested in learning how your plans can be activated and used in real-time when built in Catalyst.
Catalyst is a fully integrated business continuity and IT disaster recovery planning software that assists with
much more than just planning!
If youd like to learn more, check out our website or contact us to schedule a demo or start a free trial.
>> Enjoy an extended free trial of Catalyst Pro (45 days!) with referral code: DRJ Plan Templates.

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Contents
Cover Page ............................................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Assumptions ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
Scope / Infrastructure Information....................................................................................................................... 5
Infrastructure Recovery Team .............................................................................................................................. 6
Team Communication ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Recovery Prerequisites Checklist .......................................................................................................................... 6
Recovery Procedures ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Verification Procedures ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Return Home Procedures ..................................................................................................................................... 8
Appendix I: Attachments ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Appendix II: Third Party Contacts ......................................................................................................................... 8
History Log ............................................................................................................................................................ 9

TERMS OF USE
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
View a copy of this license online, or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Cover Page
Title:
Description:
Owners:
Contributors:
Last Updated:
Last Approved:
Status:
Exercise Status:

Introduction
The purpose of this infrastructure disaster recovery plan is to guide personnel through the steps necessary to
recover from a disruption at the primary data center. This plan will be activated based on the type and
severity of a disruptive event or failure as characterized by management and may be used individually or in
conjunction with other plans throughout the organization.

Assumptions
The following assumptions were used in developing this plan:

The infrastructure is inoperable at its primary data center, with downtime potentially exceeding the
approved recovery time objective (RTO).
Key personnel have been identified and trained in their response and recovery roles; they are
available to activate this plan.
Current backups of software and data are intact and available for recovery.

Scope/Infrastructure Information
TITLE

DESCRIPTION

OWNER(S)

ROLE

LOWEST
COMMITTED
COMMITTED
RTO
RTO

PROVEN
RTO

LOWEST
COMMITTED
COMMITTED
RPO
RPO

PROVEN
RPO

RELATED
ITEMS

Infrastructure Recovery Team

This section of the plan lists the IT professionals responsible for leading/executing the recovery of the
Infrastructure covered by this plan. A leader (and alternates) should be listed, as well as personnel by role (a
specific role should be listed and defined for each specialized skill needed to recover).
The following personnel are needed to recover this application:
PRIMARY
MEMBERS

ALTERNATE
MEMBERS

IT Owner/Team Leader
Provide leadership to department personnel regarding recovering in-scope IT
infrastructure using alternate methods and/or resources; submit status reports
and requests for assistance to management.

[Insert]

[Insert]

Primary Support Team

[Insert a description of this role's primary responsibilities in recovery mode]

[Insert]

[Insert]

Alternate Support Team

[Insert a description of this role's primary responsibilities in recovery mode]

[Insert]

[Insert]

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Team Communication
Throughout the recovery effort, the Recovery Team should remain in contact with management. In order to
do so, the following methods (aside from normal communication devices) should be used.
Website:

[Insert]

Team Room:

[Insert]

Other:

[Insert]

Recovery Prerequisites Checklist

Any infrastructure or application disaster recovery plans that are needed to operate this
infrastructure should be listed here:

PLAN NAME

OWNER/VENDOR
CONTACT

PHONE

DR TIER /
CLASSIFICATION

COMMENTS

Recovery Procedures
Insert procedure(s) or refer to existing document(s) regarding the process to restart the application and
prepare for validation testing.
#
1

TITLE
[Procedure Title 1]

[Insert]

[Insert Description]
2

ROLE

[Procedure Title X]

[Insert]

[Insert Description]

Verification Procedures
This section of the plan addresses how IT will verify that the infrastructure is operating
appropriately. Describe the system checks necessary to ensure the technology is operating / processing
completely / accurately and that data is restored within expectations.
#
1

TITLE
[Procedure Title 1]
[Insert Description]

[Procedure Title X]
[Insert Description]

ROLE
[Insert]

[Insert]

Return Home Procedures

This section addresses the procedures necessary to move the infrastructure from a recovery location back to
the primary data center. Specifically, document how to transition from the recovery location to the original
location without leading to unexpected downtime and without introducing security risks. Be sure to address
how you will communicate with the end user and make them aware of the move.
#
1

TITLE

ROLE

[Procedure Title 1]

[Insert]

[Insert Description]
2

[Procedure Title X]

[Insert]

[Insert Description]

Appendix I: Attachments
Additional support files can be documented here.
FILE NAME

DESCRIPTION

FILE LOCATION

Appendix II: Third Party Contacts

The following third parties (vendors, consultants, etc) are needed to support execution of this plan:
NAME:
TITLE:
COMPANY:

EMAIL:
ADDRESS:
PHONE:
ALT PHONE:
MOBILE:
FAX:
OTHER:

History Log
VERSION

DATE

[Insert]

ACTION
[Insert]

Catalyst is a fully integrated business continuity

planning solution that will make your life easier.
This plan template will work for you if you
build your program in Catalyst. How?
FULLY-INTEGRATED: When you build your plans in Catalyst, you never have to enter data twice! Easily access
the data entered in the system during the completion of your business impact analysis and risk assessment,
and seamlessly pull that data into your plan. Many of the fields in this template would have been
automatically populated for you if your program was being built in Catalyst. Efficiency at its best!
AUTOMATION: Forget sending out plan update reminders, reviews, and approvals! Catalyst automates these
time-consuming tasks across the board. On-screen guides help move users through the planning process
defining terms and describing what type of information is being requested. And, approval frequencies can be
set for all policies, BIAs, and plans so planning participants are automatically notified when reviews and
updates are needed.
LIVE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Activate your plans during a live disruptive incident and make them
interactive! Activated plans guide you and your team through the approved response and recovery
procedures. Mark items as complete as you go, or post an update and assign a priority if you run into any
issues along the way so the Crisis Management Team Leader is aware and can take action if necessary. This
feature is included with Catalyst Pro and Enterprise or available as an add-on package to Catalyst Basic.
INSIGHTS (METRICS): Catalyst Insights provides access to automatic business continuity metrics that help
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preparedness like never before. Have all Plans and BIAs been updated? What are the critical gaps that need
addressed? Get answers to these questions in a snap and take action! This feature is available with Catalyst
Pro and Enterprise.

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is free for up to 5 users and 10 departments.
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10