ABSTRACT
While disaster recovery planning (DRP) gets a lot of lip service these days, a surprisingly large number of organizations have failed to fully understand and/ or implement a comprehensive DRP. Simply put, every organization should have a sound DRP that will function if ever needed and that goes way beyond RAID and backup. Yes, the impressive capabilities of modern RAID arrays and the sophistication of backup procedures can make it appear that no matter what data loss occurs, IT is covered for all eventualities. Yet, there are gaping holes waiting to be exploited. This chapter takes a look at the many elements of DRP and how to implement one so that the data is safe and easily recoverable. Also discussed is a contingency plan (CP) that applies to noncatastrophic failure due to accidental deletions, disk failures, and other potential data loss scenarios. By creating and implementing a CP, organizations are better able to eliminate data loss and downtime due to non-catastrophic failures such as disk crashes and deleted documents. Further, a CP gives an organization a better understanding of the many intricate details involved in any DRP so that the eventual plan is more fitted to the real world and may actually function adequately in times of catastrophe.
