5 Questions for your Disaster Preparedness Checklist

Disaster preparedness is a major concern when it comes to data center downtime. In most cases, natural disasters such as a storm, can be predicted and prepared for, but it is important that you have a plan that can be executed in a short notice. A power outage or any other sudden incident should not take you by surprise! Here are 5 questions that should help you assess the disaster preparedness of your center:

Is our structure disaster-ready?

In most cases, your most valuable resources are stores in a well-insulated and safe structure, but think about the implications a natural disaster such as a flood or storm might have on your surrounding areas. Any small repair that is left unattended, such as a blocked roof drain, could have major impacts during an unexpected natural disaster.

Do we have a plan for safety?

Safety measures include more than the hardware and appliances at your location – any staff who might be unaware of a sudden disaster or of a safety plan can be detrimental during a disaster. Make sure that your plan for disasters and recovery is circulated among all the personnel at your data center so that everyone knows what to do during a crisis.

Do we have a trained team on stand-by?

You can’t expect all personnel to know how to react to a disaster. It is important to have an experienced and trained team who are ready to take control. A lead team member who is able to get to the data center even in harsh natural conditions is beneficial to have in case of an emergency.

Have we planned for power back up?

It is unlikey to have a data center that doesn’t have a back-up plan, but it is important to check the details of how long the back up would last in case of a prolonged outage. You may also need to identify priority servers, as well as the inactive ones, so that you could distribute the back-up power efficiently.

Have we planned for Data redundancy or back up?

Geographical redundancy of your data is vital, and with the advent of the cloud you no longer need to depend on multiple locations for your centers to achieve this. As long as your data is backed up regularly and accessible from the cloud, you are home safe.

At Lifeline Data Centers, we have a comprehensive plan for disaster preparedness and recovery, and collocation is just one of the measures we take to ensure this. Contact Lifeline Data Centers for more detail.

Rich Banta

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Rich is responsible for Compliance and Certifications, Data Center Operations, Information Technology, and Client Concierge Services. Rich has an extensive background in server and network management, large scale wide-area networks, storage, business continuity, and monitoring. Rich is a former CTO of a major health care system. Rich is hands-on every day in the data centers. He also holds many certifications, including: CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor CRISC – Certified in Risk & Information Systems Management CDCE – Certified Data Center Expert CDCDP – Certified Data Center Design Professional