Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan

1.1. Redundant Hardware

 Mirrored Servers

Mirrored high‐availability servers can be used for redundant online systems. Two servers
operate as one machine. If the system is functioning correctly, a secondary server takes
over processing when the primary server fails.

 Mirrored Disk Drives

Using RAID technology, the data on disk drives can be mirrored. 

- Mirrored servers

- RAID 

 Redundant Communication

Network routers can be set up in a redundant configuration to ensure maximum uptime.

This effective design utilizes communication services from more than one communication
provider.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plan

1.3. Data Backup Strategies

 Full Backup

Creates an entire copy of each file on the system. This is the most effective backup method and requires
a significant amount of time. It’s common for a full backup to be run at least once per week, but the
frequency of your backup should depend on the value of your data. To restore data, the computer
operator loads the latest full backup, usually from tapes. Next, the most current data is loaded by using
files from a subsequent incremental or differential backup tape.

 Incremental Method
Copies only the files that have changed since the last backup. The incremental method is commonly
used for backups on weekdays. This method requires less time than a full backup. Unfortunately, the file
restoration process takes longer because it is necessary to restore the full backup and each version of
incremental backup. An incremental backup resets the archive bit (backup flag) to indicate that a file
needs to be backed up. If any of the tapes or disks in incremental restoration fail, the RPO will also fail.
Incremental recovery requires using more tapes.

 Differential Method

Copies every file that has changed between full backup runs. Differential is the preferred method for
business continuity. This method ensures that multiple copies of daily files should exist on multiple
tapes. A differential backup is very fast on the first day after a full backup and then takes longer each day
as more files are copied. A differential backup works because the backup software does not change the
archive bit (backup flag).