disaster recovery in the cloud computing technology that enables an organization to replicate and backup all data system software, servers, and infrastructure in the cloud so that business operations can continue without interruption if the primary environment becomes damaged. This enables enterprises to regain control of critical applications quickly after a disaster and reduces the cost of downtime by eliminating the need for an organization to manage its own offsite infrastructure.
DRaaS providers offer managed services to ensure that business data is safe in the event of a disaster, which could include natural disasters, fires, and even cyber attacks. Typically, the DRaaS solution offers storage and hosting of physical and virtual servers in a remote data center operated by the vendor. The solution also provides a cloud management interface to select the virtual machines and/or physical servers that it backs up. The DRaaS provider takes snapshots of the selected servers on a regular basis to create an image of the servers in the cloud, ready to be recovered in the event of a disaster.
If a disaster strikes, the end-users are moved from the enterprise to the DRaaS vendor’s environment. Once the primary systems are functioning again, the replication process is restarted and the data moves from the DRaaS environment to the original site. Some DRaaS solutions support both virtual and physical infrastructures, while others offer hybrid DR, which is designed to allow organizations to protect both non-virtualized and virtual applications.
The benefits of draas include that the third-party provider handles all configuration, allocating, and testing, which eliminates a significant amount of staff time. This allows the business to focus on revenue-generating activities. Additionally, DRaaS can be more cost-efficient than building and managing its own offsite infrastructure. The cost of a DRaaS solution is often based on a pay-per-use model, so the business pays for the services that it uses.
It is important to verify the DRaaS vendor’s SLA. Some DRaaS solutions only offer a limited SLA, and some may not be able to meet the enterprise’s recovery time objectives for specific applications. For example, some businesses require a few minutes of downtime for certain applications while others cannot tolerate any downtime at all.
When considering a DRaaS solution, it is essential to consider the impact of a disaster on both the enterprise and the DRaaS provider. For instance, it is crucial to understand the impact on recovery times if both the DRaaS provider and the enterprise are affected by the same natural disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake. It is also a good idea to test failover procedures to ensure that the DRaaS solution is working as intended. The DRaaS vendor should also provide guidance on the best way to perform this testing, including the number and frequency of tests that are required. During this testing, the business should ensure that it can be successful at recovering its critical applications and data with minimal downtime.
