Preparing for the Worst: Disaster Recovery Precautions

Lack of preparation during a data center disaster can create havoc when disaster strikes. When a crash happens, critical things have to be done under pressure. This stress factor can be relieved to a great extent by advance preparation and planning. A disaster recovery plan should be the primary objective of any enterprise making use of a data center.

There is no formula that can predict when a disaster is going to occur. Hence a recovery team must always be alert. Here are some things they to keep in mind.

Remember the time constraints:

Always have a clear idea of which tasks to perform quickly and in what order.

Select the best personnel for the task:

Go for the experts. This is not the time (or the scenario) for training freshers!

Prepare a recovery plan in advance:

Plan and prepare a step-by-step decision chart which details out the to-dos for each personnel deployed in a recovery site. This reduces communication delays and reduces overhead on supervisors.

Practice makes perfect:

Practice trial drills periodically to ensure effectiveness of recovery team. This will improve the preparedness of the team and hence allow them to act more efficiently in the event of a mishap

Above all, stay calm!

Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.