Having a solid network disaster recovery plan is crucial for any business to protect critical systems and data in the event of an outage or cyberattack. Here are the key steps to creating an effective disaster recovery plan for your network.
1. Perform a Risk Assessment
The first step is to understand potential risks that could cause a disaster like natural disasters, cyber attacks, hardware failures, human errors, etc. Identify assets, systems and data that are most critical. Assess the impacts and probabilities of various disaster scenarios. This allows you to prioritize recovery strategies.
2. Define Recovery Objectives
Define quantitative recovery objectives based on the risks assessed:
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO) – The maximum acceptable time to recover critical systems/data
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO) – The maximum duration of data loss acceptable
Common RTOs are 4, 8, 24 or 48 hours. RPOs are often hourly, daily or weekly. The lower these objectives, the higher the costs.
3. Implement Fault Tolerance
Fault tolerance techniques like redundancy, failovers and backups help minimize downtimes and data loss. Consider:
- Server redundancy – Clustering, load balancing, failover servers
- Power redundancy – Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), generators
- Network redundancy – Multiple internet connections, redundant switches/routers
- Failover sites – Hot/warm/cold sites to failover during outages
- Backups – Daily backups, offsite/cloud backups to meet RPO
Implement as many fault tolerance measures as feasible given your RTO/RPO.
4. Create a Written Plan
Document the disaster recovery plan clearly outlining:
- Emergency procedures during/after a disaster
- Responsibilities of disaster recovery team members
- Communication protocols for staff, customers, vendors
- Recovery site details and access procedures
- Suppliers/vendors contact information
- Step-by-step recovery procedures for critical systems
5. Set up Automated Monitoring and Alerting
Configure monitoring tools to watch critical infrastructure and applications. Set up notifications to alert recovery teams in case of outages. This enables starting recovery procedures ASAP.
Some key things to monitor:
- Network – Ping critical components, monitor performance
- Servers – Uptime, disk space, hardware health
- Backups – Job status, available restore points
- Security – Anti-malware, intrusion detection etc.
6. Maintain Spare Infrastructure
Keep spare infrastructure at the recovery site to reduce downtimes:
- Critical spare servers, network devices configured ready to switchover
- Images/backups of critical servers in the cloud or on external media
- Licenses and media for rebuilding systems and restoring data
- Hardware replacement stock – Hard drives, NICs, memory etc.
Regularly audit and update spare equipment.
7. Assign a Disaster Recovery Team
Appoint a disaster recovery team representing all critical departments and key skills:
- Emergency response – First responders, facilities/security
- IT/network – Systems, data, infrastructure recovery
- Operations – Business process, customer service continuity
- Communications – PR, media, customer, vendor communications
- Suppliers/partners – IT recovery, alternate facilities etc.
Define roles and responsibilities for each member.
8. Conduct Training Exercises
Conduct periodic disaster simulations/tests to train staff and validate recovery procedures. Test scenarios can include:
- Server/datacenter failures
- Major network outages
- Malware/ransomware attacks
- Natural disasters – Floods, fire, hurricanes etc.
- Cyber attacks – DDoS, hacking, data leaks
Monitor execution times and identify plan gaps or areas of improvement.
9. Integrate With Business Continuity Plan
Align network disaster recovery with overall business continuity planning for operations, facilities, supply chain etc. Integrate emergency procedures with business continuity to:
- Maintain customer services as per business priorities
- Provide alternate facilities, systems to critical departments
- Manage cashflows, workforce, communications during outages
- Resume operations as quickly as possible post disaster
10. Review and Update Regularly
Review and update the disaster recovery plan atleast annually. Key things to review:
- Risk assessment – Add new threats and vulnerabilities
- Recovery objectives – Adjust based on business needs
- Technologies – Update based on infrastructure changes
- Roles and responsibilities – Account for any staff changes
- Vendor information – Review third-party services/contracts
- Procedures – Refine based on lessons learned in tests
Keeping the plan current ensures it remains relevant as the business evolves.
Conclusion
Developing and maintaining a comprehensive network disaster recovery plan is vital for preventing prolonged outages that could severely impact an organization. The key steps involve risk analysis, implementing fault tolerance, detailed planning, team training, integrating with business continuity, and regular reviews.
With robust recovery objectives, automated monitoring, redundant infrastructure, and practice drills, organizations can withstand natural disasters, cyber attacks and system failures. Keeping a current recovery plan improves resilience and ensures critical network availability.
