Disaster recovery
Disaster recovery storage
for when the building goes dark.
Keep a locked copy of critical data on storage in India, far from your primary site and outside the reach of its passwords. Then practise bringing it back.
What DR storage needs
Five properties of a good DR copy.
Distance
Somewhere other than the office or data centre you are protecting.
off-siteSeparate access
Its own accounts and keys, so one compromise does not reach every copy.
isolationLocked
Object Lock prevents changes or deletion during the retention period.
object lockDurable
Erasure-coded storage across nodes in India rides out individual node failures.
distributedReachable by your tools
Works with backup and replication software that supports S3-compatible storage.
s3 apiTwo numbers
Agree your RPO and RTO before the bad day.
| System | Example RPO | Example RTO | What that implies |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERP / accounting | 4 hours | 8 hours | Backups several times a day; restore runbook tested |
| File server | 24 hours | 24 hours | Nightly backup; most-used shares restored first |
| Email archive | 24 hours | 3 days | Nightly backup; restore can wait for the critical systems |
A plan in five steps
Write it down, then rehearse it.
- 01
Rank your systems
Which ones stop the business if they are down for a day? Start there.
- 02
Set RPO and RTO
Agree them with the people who own each system, not just IT.
- 03
Match backup frequency
Schedule backups or replication to meet each RPO.
- 04
Keep a locked copy off-site
Send it to Stornox with Object Lock and its own keys.
- 05
Run a drill
Restore into a test environment, time it, and fix whatever slowed you down.
FAQ
Questions we get asked.
What is the difference between backup and disaster recovery?
Backup is having copies. Disaster recovery is the plan for getting the business running again after a big event, such as losing a building or a data centre. Off-site backup storage is one part of that plan.
What do RPO and RTO mean?
RPO (recovery point objective) is how much data you can afford to lose, measured as time since the last good copy. RTO (recovery time objective) is how long you can be down. Backup frequency sets your RPO. Restore speed and your runbook set your RTO.
Where should the DR copy be kept?
Away from the primary site and away from the same passwords. Stornox gives you an off-site copy in India under separate keys, locked with Object Lock.
How often should we test?
At least twice a year for a full drill, and a small restore every month. Restore your most important system into a test environment and time it against your RTO.
Related
Read next.
Get in touch
Talk to someone who knows storage.
Book a 30-minute call. Bring your current numbers and we will tell you what Stornox would cost, what it would take to move, and whether it is the right fit.
Prefer to call? +91 91751 11820 · hello@stornox.com
