Security Basics mailing list archives

RE: Disaster Recovery Plan


From: "Ross, George" <george.ross () atlahq org>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2004 17:14:06 -0400

Look at Veritas.  They have a product known as Baremetal restore.  It
may require some additional products to back up the data but it should
take care of the servers your looking for especially if your in a NAS
environment this should work great for ya.  Let me know.

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Crape [mailto:ka55ad () gmail com] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 23, 2004 4:00 PM
To: Holmes, Brian
Cc: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: Disaster Recovery Plan


Thanks for the response. I was looking for software and so forth to use.
I would like to have something like a Symantec Ghost server which can
create a ghost image over the network nightly of all the servers, but
the key would to be have no downtime. Right now we use Tapeware for the
tape backup and it can make full backups when the systems are up and
running. If I could find something very similar to image the hard drives
onto a remote NAS or something, that would put my mind at ease. Lets
face it, restoring an image created the night before is preferable to
restoring a master tape, and then the differential. Just the time
difference alone would presumably be beneficial.

As far as hardware and OS goes - its all AMD machines running Win2k
Server and a HP tape drive.

On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 14:47:41 -0500, Holmes, Brian
<brian.holmes () corelab com> wrote:

What you described sounds more like a "backup strategy" which is 
incorporated into a DRP. The DRP itself should be based on priority 
and risk levels.

1st step:
Assess the computing environment and determine the acceptable risks 
and/or downtime (e.g. how long the environment(s) could remain down 
w/o significantly affecting the business?)

2nd step:
Document all the information required to "rebuild" the systems: 
hardware, software, applications, system configuration, licenses, 
etc...

3rd step:
Prioritize the system restoration process, i.e. what systems should be

up first, etc... Since some systems are required to operate other 
systems, consider this (e.g. must restore OS before loading Apps)

Note: Make sure to include the process for restoring the data - the 
person who normally does this may not be available in a disaster, so 
write clear and concise instructions.

4th step:
Test the plan...

Attempt to justify the costs of implementing and testing a solid DRP 
by quantifying financial loss to management. For example, if the data 
center was flooded, the company would lose all computing for 4 days. 
Due to the nature of our business, this could costs us over 
$1,000,000. Therefore, it is in our best interests to invest in a 
solid DRP.


Brian Holmes
IT Business Analyst
Core Laboratories
phone: (713) 328-2679
fax:     (713) 328-2901
bholmes () corelab com


-----Original Message-----
From: ka55ad [mailto:ka55ad () gmail com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 8:53 AM
To: security-basics () securityfocus com
Subject: Disaster Recovery Plan

Although this might be slightly off topic, I was wondering if anyone 
could give me some suggestions for some disaster recovery plans. Right

now we are a small place (less than 50 employees total), and I am not 
comfortable with the current Disaster Recovery plan (it was created 
before I came on board). It basically involves performing a master 
backup on tape once a month and then doing a differential backup every

week night. We have 2 sets of differential tapes that we keep off site

and alternate every week, but the masters are not kept off site.

I am working with a very limited budget. Can anyone recommend a good 
solution that will ease my worries? Thanks.

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to facilitate one-on-one interaction with one of our expert instructors.

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Ethical Hacking at the InfoSec Institute. Mention this ad and get $545 off
any course! All of our class sizes are guaranteed to be 10 students or less
to facilitate one-on-one interaction with one of our expert instructors.
Attend a course taught by an expert instructor with years of in-the-field
pen testing experience in our state of the art hacking lab. Master the skills
of an Ethical Hacker to better assess the security of your organization.
Visit us at:
http://www.infosecinstitute.com/courses/ethical_hacking_training.html
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