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Running head: COMPONENTS OF A DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN
Components of a Disaster Recovery Plan
Charanjeev Johal
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DeVry Institute of Technology
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Components of a Disaster Recovery Plan
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Disasters do strike without warning. Extreme weather events represent one end of the
stick. On the other end, human error can render an organization's business inoperable ranging
from a few hours to several days. Whatever the circumstances, it’s critical for an organization to
have a disaster recovery plan in place. A disaster recovery plan (DRP) is “a plan designed to
reduce the impact of a disaster and shorten the time needed to recover from a disaster whether
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natural or man-made.” (Whitman, & Mattord, 2007, p. 524). The DRP provides an efficient
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solution that can be used to recover all essential business processes in a specific time frame. The
DRP document should include specific and detailed guidelines and procedures for restoring lost
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or damaged organizational I.T capability.
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The DR team must have a team leader, this leader should also be a member of the
contingency planning management team (CPMT). Disaster recovery team is made up of several
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teams based on the size of the organization. These teams are the disaster management team,
communications team, computer recovery (hardware) team, systems recovery (OS) team,
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network recovery team, storage recovery team, applications recovery team, data management
team, vendor contact team, damage assessment and salvage team, business interface team,
logistics team, and other teams as needed. The Disaster management team is the command and
control team responsible for planning and coordination activities during a disaster, this team
coordinates all efforts and receives reports and feedback from other teams and accordingly
assigns work to them. The communications team is made up of members from the public
relations and legal departments. They express the needs from the upper management and giving
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feedback to anyone in need of additional information about the organization’s efforts in
recovering from the disaster such as the press or the families of employees. The computer
recovery (hardware) team works towards recovering physical computing assets that might be
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useable after the disaster. Systems recovery (OS) team recovers and restores operating systems
and could also re-establish user accounts and remote connectivity in conjunction with the
network team. The Network recovery team focuses on extent of damage to the network hardware
infrastructure as well as Internet and intranet connectivity. They work towards re-establishing
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connectivity by repairing or replacing damaged or destroyed parts. They work closely with the
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Internet service provider (ISP) to re-establish connectivity.
The Storage recovery team deals with network attached storage (NAS), they work with
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the others to recover data/information and re-establish operations. The applications recovery
team recovers applications and reintegrates users back into the systems once the previous groups
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have systems back up and running. The data management team works with all of other teams,
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their key focus is on data restoration and recovery which could be on-site, off-site, or online
transactional data. This team is expected to swiftly assess the recoverability of data from systems
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on site and follow with recommendations to the management team as to whether off-site data
recovery is needed. The vendor contact team coordinates with suppliers and vendors to replace
damaged or destroyed materials, equipment, or services, based on the feedback from the other
teams. The damage assessment and salvage team this team is specialized at providing initial
assessment of the extent of damage to materials, inventory, equipment, and systems on location.
They are in-charge of physically recovering salvageable items to be relocated to a location where
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the other teams can evaluate them. This team is also in charge for coordinating physical security
with law enforcement and any private security service.
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The Business interface team works with the rest of the organization to assist in the
recovery of non-technology functions. The most critical functions are rebuild first. As the liaison
between business and IT, this team makes certain that each team can work on their own recovery
efforts, without interfering with each other. The Logistics team is in-charge for providing needed
supplies, space, materials, food, services, or facilities needed at the primary location. Finally,
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other teams could be implemented as needed based on specialized needs to assist in the recovery
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operations.
After the DR teams and members are identified, The DR Team takes the Incident
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Response (IR) team’s incident-handling procedures and starts developing its unique procedures
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for the DR plan i.e. the DR team transforms the incidents to disasters However any through DR
plan will include three key activities and components which are “during the disaster”, “after the
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disaster”, and “before the disaster”. In addition, there to other activities which are Plan Testing,
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Training, and Exercises and Plan Maintenance
During the disaster phase, planners develop, expand, and document the procedures that
need be carried out while the disaster is in progress. These procedures are grouped and assigned
to teams and team members. For example, network administrators’ tasks would differ from
managerial tasks, so it is critical for members of planning committee to draft a set of functionspecific procedures during the disaster. However, certain disasters may hinder organizational
response, unless the team members are at on-site when the disaster strikes. For such disasters,
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evacuation plans/exits, shelters locations, fire suppression systems, and other emergency reaction
items such as first aid kits must be organized and located into accessible and easy-to-read
documents which could be referred to during the disaster.
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In the after the disaster phase, after the procedures and guidelines for handling or reacting
to a disaster are drafted, the DR team planners develop and document the procedures that must
be taken immediately and swiftly after the disaster has come to an end. It should be noted that,
separate functional areas could develop various procedures. Finally, if the damage from the
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disaster is considerable enough, crisis management procedures may be needed.
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In the before the disaster phase, the planners scheme a third set of procedures cataloging
tasks that need be performed in order to prepare for the disaster. These procedures include
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information/data backups, disaster recovery preparations, staff training schedules, testing plans,
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copies of service agreements, and business continuity plans, if implemented by the organization.
The Plan Testing, Training, and Exercises phase focuses on training management and staff
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in the proper performance of their specific roles as laid down in the disaster recovery plan to test
the cogency and effectiveness of the DR plan as well as prepare the various teams to use it. Any
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issues that arise in the plan during training are incorporated into the draft document. Once the
drafts have been reviewed and tested, the final assembly can commence. Finally, in the Plan
Maintenance phase, the DR plan is updated regularly to remain current with I.T enhancements. It
is advisable for the DR lead team to revisit the plan once a year to update the necessary changes.
In conclusion, every organizations is vulnerable to encountering a severe incident,
preventing it from continuing every day operations at any time. Beyond disasters such as
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electronic warfare, terrorist attacks, man-made disasters such as fire or political disasters such as
the ones seen in Egypt and other unforeseen possibilities can cause bring an organization to a
halt. Anticipating disaster and preparing is critical and advisable, as does regular testing of IT
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services and back-ups. A well-structured and coherent disaster recovery plan will enable an
organization to recover rapidly and efficiently from an unforeseen disasters, thus avoiding
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significant organization interruption and or loss.
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References
Whitman, M. E., & Mattord, H. J. (2007). Principles of incident response and disaster recovery.
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Boston, Mass: Thomson Course Technology.