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  • Database Magazine
  • Glossary of Terms
    • A
      • Archive
      • Active backup for Office 365
      • AWS Backup
      • Active Directory
      • Agent
      • Anti-ransomware solutions
    • B
      • Backup
      • Backup and Recovery
      • Backup as a service
      • Bare-metal backup
      • Backup repository
      • Backup schedule
      • Backup Solutions
      • Business Continuity
    • C
      • Cloud Backup
      • Continuous Data Protection (CDP)
      • Compression
      • Consistency check
      • Cold Backup
      • Cloud Data Management (CDM)
    • D
      • Data Deduplication
      • Disaster Recovery (DR)
      • Differential Backup
      • Disk-to-Disk (D2D) Backup
      • Disaster Recovery (DR)
    • E
      • Encryption
      • Endpoint Backup
      • Erasure Coding
      • Export/Import
      • Enterprise Backup Software
    • F
      • Full Backup
      • Failover
      • File-Level Backup
      • File Sync and Share
      • Fireproof and Waterproof Storage
    • G
      • Grandfather-Father-Son (GFS)
      • Granular Recovery
      • Geographically Dispersed Backup
      • Ghost Imaging
      • Global Deduplication
    • H
      • Hybrid Backup
      • Hot Backup
      • High Availability (HA)
      • Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
      • Hybrid Cloud Backup
    • I
      • Incremental Backup
      • Image-based Backup
      • Instant Recovery
      • Integrity Check
      • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
    • J
      • Journaling
      • Job Scheduler
      • Just-in-Time Recovery
      • Journal-Based Recovery
      • Jumbo Frames
    • K
      • Key Management
      • Kernel-Based Recovery
      • Kickstart
      • Kept Versions
      • Kill Switch
    • L
      • Long-Term Retention
      • Log-Based Recovery
      • Local Backup
      • Latency
      • Load Balancing
    • M
      • Metadata
      • Mirroring
      • Multi-Site Replication
      • Media Rotation
      • Mounting
    • N
      • Nearline Storage
      • Network-Attached Storage (NAS)
      • Non-Destructive Recovery
    • O
      • Offsite Backup
      • Online Backup
      • Object Storage
      • Offsite Replication
      • Open File Backup
      • Overwrite Protection
      • One-Click Restore
    • P
      • Point-in-Time Recovery
      • Primary Storage
      • Physical Backup
      • Private Cloud Backup
      • P2V (Physical-to-Virtual) Conversion
    • Q
      • Quiesce
      • Quick Recovery
      • Quota Management
      • Quality of Service (QoS)
      • Query-Based Recovery
    • R
      • Recovery Point Objective (RPO)
      • Recovery Time Objective (RTO)
      • Replication
      • Restore
      • Retention Policy
    • S
      • Snapshot
      • Storage Area Network (SAN)
      • Secondary Storage
      • Single Point of Failure (SPOF)
      • Synthetic Full Backup
    • T
      • Tape Backup
      • Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
      • Thin Provisioning
      • Test Restore
      • Transaction Log
    • U
      • Universal Restore
    • V
      • Versioning
      • Virtual Machine (VM) Backup
      • Verification
      • Vaulting
      • Virtual Tape Library (VTL)
    • W
      • Warm Site
      • Workload Mobility
      • WAN Acceleration
      • Write-Once, Read-Many (WORM)
      • Windows Backup
    • X
      • XOR (Exclusive OR)
    • Y
      • Yearly Backup
    • Z
      • Zero Data Loss
  • Best Practices and Tips
    • How to backup Microsoft 365 using third-party backup tools
  • FAQs
    • Does Office 365 have backups?
    • What is the best backup for Office 365?
    • How do I backup my Office 365 backup?
    • What is the backup tool for Office 365?
    • Does Office 365 have storage?
    • Is OneDrive a reliable backup solution?
    • What is an Incremental Backup?
    • Does VMware have a backup tool?
    • What is VMware considered backup?
    • What are the types of backup in VMware?
    • Is VMware snapshot a backup?
    • What is the best way to backup a Hyper-V VM?
    • How do I create a backup in Hyper-V?
    • Should you backup a Hyper-V host?
    • What is the difference between Hyper-V snapshot and backup?
    • What is the disaster recovery in IT industry?
    • What should an IT disaster recovery plan include?
    • What are the main steps in IT disaster recovery?
    • What is the difference between IT security and disaster recovery?
    • What is a NAS backup?
    • How do I backup my NAS data?
    • Can NAS be used as a backup?
    • What is Nutanix used for?
    • What is Nutanix storage?
    • What is RPO and RTO in Nutanix?
    • What is MSP backup?
    • What is managed backup service?
    • How do I restore my MSP backup?
    • What is Azure Backup?
    • What is the purpose of Azure Backup?
    • What are the different types of Azure cloud backups?
    • Is Azure Backup a PaaS?
    • What are the downsides of Backblaze?
    • Does Backblaze backup everything?
    • Is Backblaze better than Google Drive?
  • Resources
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  1. FAQs

What should an IT disaster recovery plan include?

Components of an IT Disaster Recovery Plan: Key elements for effective recovery and business continuity.

An IT disaster recovery plan is a comprehensive framework that outlines the strategies, procedures, and actions required to recover IT systems and infrastructure following a disruptive event. While specific plans may vary based on organizational needs, industry regulations, and the nature of IT operations, there are several essential components that every IT disaster recovery plan should include:

  1. Risk Assessment and Business Impact Analysis: A thorough assessment of potential risks and their impact on business operations is crucial. Identify potential threats, vulnerabilities, and the criticality of IT systems and data. This analysis helps prioritize recovery efforts and allocate resources effectively.

  2. Recovery Objectives: Define recovery objectives, including Recovery Point Objective (RPO) and Recovery Time Objective (RTO). RPO determines the maximum acceptable data loss, while RTO sets the desired timeframe for systems and services to be restored. These metrics guide the development of recovery strategies.

  3. Emergency Response Procedures: Establish clear procedures for initial response and immediate actions during a disaster. This includes communication protocols, escalation paths, and incident response roles and responsibilities. Define who should be contacted, how to notify stakeholders, and how to activate the disaster recovery plan.

  4. Data Backup and Recovery: Define backup procedures, including frequency, storage locations, and backup media. Specify the process for data restoration, verifying data integrity, and performing recovery tests. Consider both onsite and offsite backup solutions to ensure data availability in various scenarios.

  5. Recovery Strategies: Develop recovery strategies based on the RPO and RTO. This includes determining whether to restore systems from backups, replicate systems to alternate locations, or use cloud-based recovery options. Document step-by-step procedures for each strategy, ensuring clarity and ease of execution.

  6. Infrastructure and System Recovery: Outline the steps necessary to recover IT infrastructure components, such as servers, networks, databases, and applications. Specify the order of recovery, dependencies between systems, and any special considerations for restoring different components.

  7. Communication and Stakeholder Management: Establish communication plans to keep stakeholders informed during a disaster. Identify key contact points, communication channels, and methods for delivering status updates. This includes internal communication with employees, external communication with customers and partners, and coordination with relevant authorities if necessary.

  8. Testing and Maintenance: Regularly test the IT disaster recovery plan through simulations and exercises to validate its effectiveness. Identify gaps and areas for improvement, and update the plan accordingly. Keep documentation up to date, including contact lists, system inventories, and recovery procedures.

  9. Training and Awareness: Ensure that employees involved in disaster recovery are trained on their roles and responsibilities. Provide ongoing training and awareness programs to keep staff informed about the plan, their duties, and any updates or changes.

  10. Plan Review and Governance: Regularly review and update the IT disaster recovery plan to align with changing business needs, technological advancements, and regulatory requirements. Establish a governance framework to ensure plan compliance, accountability, and oversight.

An effective IT disaster recovery plan should be regularly reviewed, tested, and updated to reflect evolving risks, technology advancements, and organizational changes. By including these essential components, organizations can enhance their preparedness to mitigate the impact of IT disruptions and maintain critical business operations during times of crisis.

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Last updated 1 year ago

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