In Disaster Recovery (DR) planning, it’s essential to map out an organization’s information systems and understand which systems are critical for the organization’s operation in case of a disaster. Often, organizations realize that not all systems are vital during an emergency, and they can allocate resources more efficiently to those that are truly critical.
Understanding potential disaster scenarios, the impact on various services, and the maximum acceptable downtime for each service is crucial. Based on these considerations and additional parameters, the type of recovery solution is determined.
An integral part of the recovery plan is the creation of a disaster recovery protocol. A well-structured and practical protocol can be immensely helpful in times of crisis.
Key Considerations in Backup Planning:
When an organization plans its backup system, several key points should be taken into account:
- Mapping out critical data for backup.
- Selecting a backup method according to material distribution and company policy.
- Planning for multiple desirable backup versions, considering volume and backup approach.
- Choosing a system or software for conducting and managing backups.
- Storage for backups – it’s essential to consider risk distribution and protection of these units.
- A robust backup system should always include monitoring and control.