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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    98

    Whats you disaster recovery plan?

    This is my biggest worry now that I'm starting my business(not webhosting). All my users have their data on my servers and I'm so scared that something will crash and it will all be gone or the downtime to bring it up will cost them money. Currently I'm backing up all the data nightly to another computer but if my main server goes down I have to quickly load all the programs and data back on the new server and prey it works, probably 2-3 hours downtime. Just curious on what you guys would do if a HD failed or disk controller, CPU, anything....

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    5,105
    Well failures are going to happen so plan for them. Kudos for thinking of this up front, many don't.

    First try to have redundancy in your server Raid 1 or 5 disk will help if you have a single drive failure.

    You seem to have backups already set so thats a good thing. A communication plan is probably one thing that you should have in place so what happens if you happen to have a major outage? Will you be able to get to your customer lists and let them know what is happening?

    Be willing to pay for an OS load and emergency support by having an emergency fund available. Placing a call to your server provider or if you host yourself being able to get the hardware replaced quickly is important. Have spares. Of course if you host in your own facility you could consider a disk image on a regular basis so that if you happen to lose hardware, you can use the image to restore. Just a word of caution that this only works if you are going back to same type of hardware and if it wasnt a software problem that took you out to begin with. If its software you could just put the same issue back with an image restore.

    Finally, if you are ultra paranoid and if the data is really worth a lot and can afford it you could mirror your data between two servers so that if you lose one, the other is still active but that is fairly complex and not for the faint of heart.

    Good luck. You are thinking of the worst case up front. Thats a good thing.
    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    98
    well, we host hotel reservations so if they get lost...that could make many many people upset! :/ I was thinking of having a duplicate server(hot standby) that gets updated every few hours so if one fails at least we can stay up but might loose some data.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    671
    Clustering will be a good solution if you have a budget for it
    Server4Sale
    Dirt CHEAP Servers coming soon

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    NY USA
    Posts
    839
    Well said Sigmaservers.

    The only thing I would add, in case you arent already doing it is regular monitoring and maintenance of the server. Be sure it is secured, updated regularly, firewalled preferably, check the disks every so often with something that checks for bad sectors, S.M.A.R.T status, CPU/Chassis Temperature.

    The best disaster recovery plan, is one that is well planned and thought out, and then never used.
    EZZI.net - A Service of Access Integrated Technologies Inc
    Running data centers, nationwide data network, and world-wide VoIP network.
    http://www.EZZI.net sales@ezzi.net

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    98
    ...I checkon the servers more than my gir... It pretty much tells me everything and I think I have it well secured. Only one user login, no root, email when ever someone logs in, daily monitor of logs....I'm paraniod!

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    5,105
    Good point Christopher. Preventative maintenance is key and as Server4Sale said and you posted, get it clustered.

    Got any good deals in Hawaii? My wife got it in her head a couple of months ago and now has the travel books and the travel sites as her homepage!
    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Posts
    98
    We don't deal with the deals, we just host the reservation system so people can book their hotels...

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    5,105
    Sorry lol that was just a joke. A rather poor one I guess.

    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    Brazil
    Posts
    83
    detz:
    Rent a server in another DC (better if it's in other state them your 1st one) and mirror your data there, it's expensive but it's better.

    It's nice to choose a state free of natural disasters like huricanes, ....

    "Disaster recovery plan for company.com:

    Run naked to the montains, with your arms to the air, screaming - We are all going to die !!"

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