Availability Guide for Problem Management

Planning for Disasters
Availability Guide for Problem Management–125509
8-9
Backup Sites
Backup Sites
An important part of developing a recovery plan is determining whether or not your
company needs a backup site. A backup site is a second site that is available for use
when a disaster stops operations at your primary site. Depending on the type of backup
site, you can restart operations at the backup location within 10 minutes to 30 days. Your
company can maintain the backup site or pay another company to maintain the site.
Backup sites can be:
•
Owned by a company for its own use.
•
Owned by several companies (sites owned by several companies are called mutual
backup sites).
•
Leased from third parties that own the sites and provide contract disaster services (a
leased site is called a third-party backup site).
Backup sites should be located physically far enough away from your facility to
minimize the possibility that they will be damaged by the same disaster that affects your
site. Also, mutual backup sites should be able to handle a disaster that affects multiple
companies. If you use a mutual backup site, find out what their procedures are for
dealing with multiple companies during a disaster.
The backup sites should be equipped with all necessary hardware and software. In
addition, all sites should have:
•
Necessary data communications equipment (if possible, arrange for backup lines in
case the main lines fail).
•
Backups of databases, startup files, configuration files, and operations tools used to
simplify operations tasks.
•
Trained and knowledgeable people who can convert the site to a primary processing
site.
If you decide to have a backup site, don’t forget to develop procedures for moving
primary processing to the backup site.
Backup Site Alternatives
There are four major types of backup sites: cold sites, operational-ready sites,
data-ready sites, and online-ready sites.
To decide which backup site best meets your needs, you must first determine your
window of recovery—the length of time your business can survive without your critical
applications—and then evaluate the costs of each recovery alternative that can support
that window.
The following paragraphs describe each type of site. Table 8-1 lists the different backup
site alternatives and the advantages and disadvantages associated with each alternative.