Disaster Recovery Checklist – Mistakes to Avoid

Introduction to Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is a critical component of any organization’s overall business continuity plan.

It ensures that, when faced with unexpected disruptions—whether from natural disasters, cyberattacks, or human error—your business can maintain or quickly resume normal operations. At the heart of disaster recovery is the disaster recovery plan: a comprehensive document that outlines the steps, roles, and resources required to recover critical systems and data with minimal downtime and data loss.

Effective disaster recovery planning begins with a clear understanding of your organization’s essential business operations and the potential risks that could threaten them.

By identifying key personnel responsible for executing the recovery plan and mapping out critical systems and processes, you can create a robust disaster recovery plan checklist that leaves nothing to chance.

This proactive approach not only safeguards your business against costly interruptions but also reinforces your commitment to business continuity, ensuring that your organization is prepared to respond swiftly and efficiently to any disaster scenario.

The DartPoints Advantage (aka our Disaster Recovery Checklist):

Proven Industry Experience

• 10+ years of experience.
• Fortune 500 operations as clients.
• Multiple DC sites in geographically diverse locations for true disaster recovery strategy, supported by a comprehensive DR strategy that is regularly reviewed and updated.
• Customer references and positive testimonials.
• Multiple disaster recovery services, including physical, cloud, and hybrid solutions, with a focus on disaster recovery solutions such as cloud backup and data replication.
• Backup services for critical infrastructure.
• Ongoing DR planning is essential to ensure your DR strategy and disaster recovery solutions remain aligned with evolving business needs and technology.

Cloud-Based Disaster Recovery Plan Services

• Locations with high-speed inter-connects for dedicated, geographically redundant cloud-based disaster recovery strategy.
• Data protection and resource reservations, with backup data stored off site to enhance security and resilience.
• Regular cloud recovery testing, including regular testing and DR testing, to validate recovery plans and ensure system resilience.
• 100% guaranteed uptime SLA.
• Limited fault domains to mitigate the risk of large-scale outages.
• Near real-time data replication to maintain up-to-date, redundant copies for swift failover and minimal downtime.
• Multiple storage tiers for operational and cost efficiency.

Disaster Recovery Data Center Location and Facility

• Facilities at least 50 miles from your primary infrastructure location (primary site) to ensure geographic separation. This distance supports disaster recovery planning and enables a failback strategy to restore operations to the primary site after temporary recovery measures.
• Availability of a dedicated DR site, which can be a physical location, a cloud-based solution (such as DRaaS), or an MSP-provided DR site. Having a documented agreement, clear SLAs, and regular testing of the DR site is essential for recovery readiness.
• Locations outside of flood zone to avoid impacts from severe weather including heavy rain, hurricanes or snowmelt.
• Sufficient distance from major airports, government buildings, banks, refineries, military & intelligence facilities, dams, bridges, large malls, etc.
• Ample temporary workspace to use in the event of a crisis or if customer’s regular workspace is inaccessible or out of service.
• 24/7/365 customer access with the ability to work overnight & weekends without DC notification in the event of a disaster.

Data Center Power Redundancy

• Complete long-term power redundancy and back-up UPS systems.
• A & B power feeds for redundancy.
• On-site diesel generators that can power the entire facility in the event of area/regional power outage, helping to prevent costly downtime and business interruptions.
• Weekly test and quarterly load tests for generators.
• 24-hour on-site generator fuel capacity and unlimited capacity with existing fuel contracts.
• 15-minute call back and 4-hour on-site support for generators and UPS systems.
• Biannual battery checks on UPS systems.
• 100% power SLA.

Data Center Network Redundancy

• Redundant core and edge network infrastructure to protect critical IT systems as part of disaster recovery planning.
• A performance-based network with private VLANs.
• Custom cross-connects.
• 24/7/365 support contracts with vendors.
• Carrier-neutral facilities with access to the fiber provider of your choice.
• Facilities with multiple Internet Service Providers utilizing diverse entrances.
• Direct connections to multiple network providers.
• 100% network uptime SLA.
• Architecture designed.

Data Center Environment Redundancy

• 24/7/365 monitoring of environmental controls such as heating, cooling and ventilation.
• Facilities with fully redundant cooling systems.
• Air-conditioning systems equipped with adequate excess capacity to permit failure of certain components, such as a compressor.
• Humidification/de-humidification systems.
• Quarterly checks on smoke and fire suppression systems Water sensors in the data center floor.
• 100% environment SLA including humidity and temperature.

Data Center Security Redundancy

• Assurance that all security measures are in place, even in the event of a disaster, with ongoing monitoring and updates to address emerging security threats.
• Background checks on all employees.
• Physical DC security measures such as badge, PIN and biometric access control.
• On-site digital video camera surveillance.
• Lockable cabinets and 5-sided cages, including top.

Business Continuity Support

• Technicians available 24/7/365.
• Skilled engineers with multiple industry certifications available to assist.
• After hours Remote Hands support.
• Tech support billed in 15-minute increments.
• NOC monitors all facility alarms, tickets and customer support.

Extra Amenities

• On-site war room/disaster recovery space to accommodate staff in the event of a disaster, supporting flexible recovery operations that can adapt to dynamic business environments.
• Free use of wireless while in the building for laptops, etc.
• Free use of crash cart (KVM) to service your equipment so you don’t have to use valuable rack space to store your own.
• Free use of workspace / conference rooms when working on-site.
• Free use of secured shipping/receiving services to hold your equipment when it is arriving or leaving.
• Support for large truck and 18 wheelers for palletized equipment.

Business Impact Analysis

A business impact analysis (BIA) is a foundational step in disaster recovery planning. This process evaluates how different disaster scenarios could affect your organization’s business operations, helping you understand the potential financial, operational, and reputational impacts of disruptions. By conducting a thorough BIA, you can pinpoint which systems, processes, and data are most critical to your business’s survival and prioritize them in your disaster recovery plan.

The insights gained from a business impact analysis guide the development of recovery point objectives (RPOs) and recovery time objectives (RTOs) for your critical systems and data. RPOs define the maximum acceptable amount of data loss, while RTOs establish the target time to restore normal operations. With these objectives in place, you can design backup and recovery procedures that align with your business’s tolerance for downtime and data loss. Ultimately, a well-executed BIA ensures that your disaster recovery plan addresses the most vital components of your business, enabling a focused and effective recovery process.

Testing and Validation

Testing and validation are essential to ensuring your disaster recovery plan will perform as expected when a real disaster occurs. By regularly simulating disaster scenarios, your organization can assess the effectiveness of your recovery procedures and identify any gaps or weaknesses in your disaster recovery planning. This proactive approach allows you to refine your backup and recovery procedures, ensuring that all critical systems and data can be restored quickly and efficiently.

Regular disaster recovery testing not only validates your recovery plan but also familiarizes your disaster recovery team with their roles and responsibilities, increasing confidence and coordination during an actual event. By documenting test results and making necessary adjustments, you can minimize downtime and data loss, ensuring a successful recovery and a swift return to normal operations. Consistent testing and validation are key to maintaining a resilient disaster recovery strategy that evolves with your business and the ever-changing threat landscape.