System Disaster Recovery: What to Expect
Ideally, any system disaster recovery guide should first contain detailed instructions on how to quickly install the main Operating System on the server or network. For instance, the guide should use slipstreaming (a way to package updates with Windows), as well as automating as much of the Operating System installation as possible. Using Microsoft's own tools for an automated installation of Windows, a System Administrator can quickly install a Windows Operating System on an entire network very easily. Time is always crucial when planning a recovery plan!
After the Operating System is installed, server and desktop applications need to be also installed as quickly as possible. Ideally, all server applications and desktop applications will be installed using a script, so that the installation is streamlined and efficient. Make sure that you do not leave out a single server or desktop application when you create these scripts, as that can spell disaster later on! You will probably have to create several scripts, as some applications have dependencies which must be installed before the application itself (such as the Microsoft .NET framework).
After the server and desktop applications have been installed, it is now time to migrate over your backups. If a disaster has truly happened, you need to do this fast! Relying on the post office for delivering your backup tapes has two disadvantages: it is slow, and it is unreliable. Instead, a backup site should be local enough that a System Administrator can drive to, to retrieve the backup tapes immediately! If your backups are in stages (for instance, first backup set is your file server data, second backup set is your email/website data), you can get the server semi-functional while data is still being copied to the server. This will allow users to use the server, while still recovering data.
No matter which exact disaster recovery steps you make in your disaster plan, you should always keep the speed for your data recoveries in mind. Slow network or server recovery costs your company money in downtime associated costs (employee's salaries and lost productivity and revenue are not cheap costs), as well as it makes your company's System Administrator look inefficient and incompetent. However, a fast recovery plan will ensure that the company's revenue losses are minimal, and are an excellent opportunity for the company's leadership to recognize their excellent IT staff. To put it bluntly, good disaster recovery planning will mean the difference between a promotion, and the unemployment line!
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