DISASTER RECOVERY

Table of Contents

2. Business Continuity plan................................................................................................3

3. Classification of Disaster:................................................................................................3
4. Objective of DR...............................................................................................................4
4.1 Steps for DR:..............................................................................................................4

2
 2. Business Continuity plan................................................................................................3
3. Classification of Disaster:................................................................................................3
4. Objective of DR...............................................................................................................4
4.1 Steps for DR:..............................................................................................................4

2. Business Continuity plan

Disaster recovery planning is a subset of a larger process known as business continuity

planning and should include planning for resumption of applications, data, hardware,
communications (such as networking) and other IT infrastructure

3. Classification of Disaster:
Possible crises and disasters for consideration:

1.Hard drive meltdowns

2.Building fires

3.Floods

4.Power failures

5.Internet failures

6.Data line failures

7.Earthquakes

8.Epidemic illness(which would cause a sudden and significant decrease in staffing,

including those employees who hold vitally important positions)

9. Transport shut-downs due to weather, strike, or more serious events (again could cause
serious staffing problems)

10.Terrorist attacks

3
It's important to keep in mind that this list of possible disasters is far from exhaustive and
does not include many of the specialized concerns your particular organization may need
to consider and/or include in its disaster recovery plan. For example, if yours is a smaller
corporation, lesser events can have a greater impact on staffing, or who is on premises
with the necessary knowledge to perform certain tasks, etc.

4. Objective of DR
The primary objective of a Disaster Recovery plan is the description of how an
organization has to deal with potential natural or human-induced disasters. The disaster
recovery plannig steps that every enterprise incorporates as part of business management
includes the guidelines and procedures to be undertaken to effectively respond to and
recover from disaster recovery scenarios, which adversely impacts information systems
and business operations. Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) are the
watchwords of businesses in the Information Technology (IT) world.

Disaster Recovery Planning is the factor that makes the critical difference between the
organizations that can successfully manage crises with minimal cost and effort and
maximum speed.

The primary goal of any disaster recovery plan is to help the organization maintain its
business continuity, minimize damage, and prevent loss.

4.1 Steps for DR:

BCP or DRP step involves an extensive analysis of an organization’s business processes,

IT infrastructure, data backup, resources, continuity requirements and disaster prevention
methods. Developing a disaster recovery plan differs between enterprises based on
business type, processes, the security levels needed, and the organization size.

There are various stages involved in developing an effective Disaster Recovery or

Business Continuity plan. The key phases and the plan steps are outlined below:

Phase I – Data Collection

1.Project should be organized with timeline, resources, and expected output

4
2.Business impact analysis should be conducted at regular intervals

3.Risk assessment should be conducted regularly

4.Onsite and Offsite Backup and Recovery procedures should be reviewed

5.Alternate site location must be selected and ready for use.

One of the most common practices used by responsible organizations is a disaster

recovery plan template.

Phase II – Plan Development and Testing

Development of Disaster Recovery Plan

Phase III – Monitoring and Maintenance

1.Maintenance of the Plan through updates and review

2.Periodic inspection of DRP

3.Documentation of changes

3.1Criteria

A documentation of the procedures as to declaring emergency, evacuation of site

pertaining to nature of disaster, active backup, notification of the related officials/DR
team/staff, notification of procedures to be followed when disaster breaks out, alternate
location specifications, should all be maintained. It is beneficial to be prepared in
advance with sample DRPs and disaster recovery examples so that every individual in an
organization are better educated on the basics. A workable business continuity plan
template or scenarios are available with most IT-based organizations to train employees
with the procedures to be carried out in the event of a catastrophe.

3.2 Team – Roles and Responsibilities

Documentation should include identification and contact details of key personnel in the
disaster recovery team, their roles and responsibilities in the team.

3.3 Testing and Maintenance

The dates of testing, disaster recovery scenario, and plans for each scenario should be
documented. Maintenance involves record of scheduled review on a daily, weekly,
monthly, quarterly, yearly basis; reviews of plans, teams, activities, tasks accomplished

5
and complete documentation review and update. The disaster recovery plan developed
thereby should be tested for efficiency. To aid in that function a test strategy and
corresponding test plan should be developed and administered. The results obtained
should be recorded, analyzed, and modified as required. Organizations realize the
importance of business continuity plans that keep their business operations continuing
without any hindrance. Disaster recovery planning is a crucial component of today’s
network-based organizations that determine productivity, and business continuity