What is Disaster Recovery?
Imagine you have a favourite toy. One day, it breaks or gets lost. But, surprise! You’ve planned ahead, have a backup toy, or know how to fix it. That’s like disaster recovery for computers and systems.
- Oops, Moments: Sometimes, bad things happen: fires, floods, or computer problems like viruses. These can damage or destroy data and systems.
- Backup to the Rescue: Disaster recovery involves having “copies” (backups) of your computer data. So, if something goes wrong, you can restore your data from these copies.
- Quick Recovery: It’s not just about having backups. It’s about how fast you can get things back to normal. You can bounce back faster after a mishap with a good DR plan.
- Plan Ahead: Like practising a fire drill, businesses should have DR plans. They think about what could go wrong and decide on steps to recover.
- More than Data: It’s not just about files and documents. DR considers things like software, hardware, and network setups. The goal is to get everything back up and running.
Types of Disasters: Natural vs. Technical
When it comes to disruptions that necessitate disaster recovery, they fall into two primary categories: natural and technical.
Natural Disasters
These events caused by nature can wreak havoc on infrastructure and data systems.
- Floods: Rising waters can damage physical servers and interrupt electrical systems.
- Earthquakes: These can physically disrupt data centres and hardware.
Hurricanes and Storms: Besides water damage, high winds and lightning can affect power sources and hardware. - Fires: Whether due to lightning or other causes, fires can destroy data infrastructure.
Technical Disasters
These are not caused by Mother Nature but are often man-made and can be just as damaging. They include:
- Hardware Failures: Machines break. Hard drives fail. The physical components that store data sometimes can stop working.
- Software Corruption: The programs and systems that use and protect our data can malfunction or become corrupted.
- Cyberattacks: Malicious attacks, like ransomware, can prevent legitimate users from accessing their data.
- Human Error: Accidental deletions or spills on sensitive equipment can lead to critical data loss.
