Essential Guide
Why you should have a disaster recovery testing plan in place
If you're implementing a DR strategy, but are thinking about skipping the disaster recovery testing plan phase, think again. This guide dives into why the testing process is vital, and how it strengthens DR efforts.
Introduction
You've created a thorough, efficient and reliable disaster recovery plan that will protect your organization's data from potential disasters, ranging from weather-related outages to ransomware. That means you're done, right? Not exactly.
The next big step should be implementing a disaster recovery testing plan that ensures your recovery efforts work correctly and meet expectations. Disaster recovery testing can clue you in if the plan isn't meeting recovery point objective/recovery time objective requirements, and enable you to make the necessary changes to get things back up and running quickly. A DR test can also point out vulnerabilities that may need to be addressed.
How frequently you need to test will differ from company to company, but experts agree that regular DR testing is the best way to validate a disaster recovery plan and keep it up to date. Some organizations may test once a year and find that sufficient, depending on their environment. But it's important to make time for testing when there are changes to the infrastructure that could affect the recovery process.
When considering the benefits of DR plan testing, you might wonder what could keep an organization from regular testing. In the past, disaster recovery testing could be a much more laborious, invasive process that involved outages during testing. However, the wide range of recovery tools available today means there is little effect on operations during testing.
With the links below, gain a better understanding of why a disaster recovery testing plan is important, how to conduct your testing efforts, and learn about some tools and terms that you will encounter along the way.
1Benefits-
Do I need to test my DR plan?
Short answer? Probably. For the longer answer, check out the links below. Chief among the benefits of testing is the ability to ensure your plan is working, but that's far from the only reason to run a test of your DR plan. When done properly, a disaster recovery testing plan can keep your recovery strategy updated and even prevent major outages in the future.
It's best not to skip out on disaster recovery testing
Without testing, all the disaster recovery planning in the world might not mean much. Along with proving that a plan works, tests help gauge how the system reacts to infrastructure changes. Continue Reading
DR testing could help prepare you for outages
Testing your disaster recovery plan is a preventative measure. A thorough disaster recovery testing process could help you stay proactive in the face of disaster. Continue Reading
Adapt to changing infrastructure easier
Changing virtual storage environments mean the disaster recovery planning process also has to change. Regular testing aids in coping with such changes. Continue Reading
If you're going to test, do it correctly
If testing a disaster recovery plan is important, then adequately testing it is vital. An alarming number of organizations don't do it correctly. Read how to avoid those same mistakes. Continue Reading
2Best practices-
Streamline the testing process
Now that you're settled in for testing, there are a number of best practices and tips for conducting the process in a way that works best for your organization. The links below offer advice for building a comprehensive disaster recovery testing plan or strengthening the one you have.
15 top tips for your DR test plan
This disaster recovery testing plan checklist will greatly improve your ability to get back up and running after a disruptive event. Continue Reading
DR planning in a nutshell: Prepare, prepare, test, test
Testing is one of the most important disaster recovery planning best practices, but is also one of the most overlooked. Continue Reading
Conducting a tabletop exercise for DR testing
Independent disaster recovery expert Paul Kirvan discusses whether a tabletop exercise is sufficient for DR testing, as well as issues that tabletop exercises should address. Continue Reading
Disaster recovery planning checklist
Use this list of basic best practices as a reference when working on your disaster recovery testing plan to avoid common mistakes. Continue Reading
3On the market-
Tools that can help
Testing a DR plan doesn't have to be a chore. There are a number of technologies available that can help ease the process and make testing a breeze.
DR software among technologies that ease testing
The disaster recovery testing process can be time-consuming and expensive. Discover how server virtualization, DR software and cloud computing have made it feasible and cost-effective. Continue Reading
DR testing technology options
Disaster recovery testing can be an onerous task, but several technologies can improve your disaster recovery testing plan and encourage future tests. Continue Reading
Simplify disaster recovery testing with DRaaS
Disaster recovery as a service makes testing a DR plan too easy to overlook -- the opposite of traditional, self-managed business continuity and disaster recovery facilities. Continue Reading
4Glossary-
Related terms to know
If you're still a little unsure about some of the technologies or processes referenced in this guide, or just looking for a refresh, this glossary of common terms can help.
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