B4-Disaster Recovery and Business continuity

Question 1

Steps in Disaster Recovery

Answer 1

1. Assess the risks
2. Identify mission-critical applications and data
3. develop a plan for handling the mission-critical applications
4. determine the responsibilities of the personnel involved in disaster recovery
5. test the disaster recovery plan

Question 2

Types of Disaster Recovery

Answer 2

1. Use of a Disaster Recovery Service
2. Internal Disaster Recovery-instantaneous resumption of processing after a disaster provide their own duplicate facilities in separate locations. Data might be mirrored and procesing can be switched almost instantaneously from one location to another. Really expensive.
3. Multiple Data Center Backups
   
   • Full back up-exact copy of the entire database. Time consuming, so most companies do full backups weekly and supplment them with daily partial backups. -longest
   • two types of partial backups
     
     • incremental backup involves copying only the data items that have changed since the last backup. shortest
     • a differential backup copies all changes made since the last full backup. middle

Question 3

Types of Off-Site Locations (fastest to slowest)

Answer 3

1. Hot Site-(few hours)off-site location that is equipped to take over the company’s data processing. Backup copies of essentail data files and programs may also be maintained at the location or a nearby data storage facility.
2. Cold site-(1-3 days)-off-site location that has all the electrical connections and other physical requirements for data processing, but does not have the actual equipment. Arrange to bring in equipment.
3. Warm Site-(Compromise 1/2 day-1 day)-facility that is already stocked with all the hardware that is takes to create a reasonable facsimile of the primary data center.