A Logical Approach to Disaster Recovery Testing
Pound for pound, testing is one of the best investments you can make in the area of disaster recovery. It’s truly where the recovery process is proven. Yet, many companies either don’t test at all or try and test too much at one time. Either approach can spell disaster.
When planning a data center disaster recovery plan exercise, usually performed at a hot site or internal company site (e.g., a second data center), following a few simple and logical steps will usually increase the likelihood of success.
Consider the following test scenarios:
- Test 1. Load the servers with the OS and bring up a basic network.
- Test 2. Add to Test 1 application data bases and critical systems.
- Test 3. Add to Tests 1 and 2 a small group of end users who can validate the status of the critical systems and data.
- Test 4. Add to Tests 1, 2 and 3 remote access (e.g., VPN) for critical applications so that end users can fully test recovery capabilities (including system functionality and performance).
- Test 5. Conduct a “surprise” test. This is basically a Level 4 test without any advanced planning or notification. Note that it is only recommended after four successful tests. These tests need very, very careful planning and are goals for everyone who is serious about data center disaster recovery.
The two most frequent mistakes companies make are:
- Conduct Test 1 repeatedly
- Proceed directly to Test 4, without preliminary testing
Neither approach provides good results. What typically works is a well-thought-out and logical sequence of test complexity.
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A sound Disaster Recovery Plan is essential for any data center. Jan Persson’s GO.RECOVER-Data Center Template is a powerful yet easy-to-use tool for under $100.
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A valuable book on exercising contingency plans is Disaster Recovery Testing: Exercising Your Contingency Plan, Philip Jan Rothstein, FBCI, Editor.
Tags: data center disaster recovery, disaster recovery exercise, disaster recovery testing
