Disaster Recovery vs Disaster Avoidance in Hosting | ServerPronto University
If you’ve been in the web administration or information technology business for some time, you’ve undoubtedly heard some of the horror stories that arise from poorly-managed hosting systems. In these stories, the terms “disaster recovery” and “ disaster avoidance “ are sometimes thrown around interchangeably, even though they represent categorically separate parts of the hosting process.
As its name suggests, the former of these two terms refers to the methods a company uses to recover from an unforeseen failure of their hosting network. Meanwhile, the latter term deals with preventing such a digital calamities from occurring in the first place. These broad differences aren’t the end of the story, though, as disaster recovery and disaster avoidance programs function in unique manners from one another as well.
If your company is in the process of reevaluating its disaster-related hosting protocols, you should take time and review these key differences. With these differentiating factors in mind, you’ll be able to clearly and succinctly explain which prevention or recovery methods will be most appropriate for your business’ hosting arrangement going forward.
Difference #1: Before and After the Fact
First and foremost, disaster recovery and disaster avoidance are different from a time frame perspective. In other words, disaster avoidance is primarily concerned with addressing problems that can crop up and lead to a major hosting outage while disaster recovery, on the other hand, involves coordinating resources to bounce back from such a hosting outage.
While both of these time frames may be addressed in a company’s hosting disaster response plan, it is important to treat them as separate factors while considering what protocols should be implemented into each. Keeping disaster recovery and avoidance separate in this way can lead to a much clearer understanding of disaster-related procedures from a non-IT point of view.
In the heat of the moment, this time-based differentiation also serves as an important distinction. Disaster avoidance protocols exist up and until a disaster strikes, at which point they are largely set aside in favor the pre-establish disaster recovery protocols. A smooth transition between these two states can ensure that your company’s hosting is able to not only recover, but also bounce back with stronger protections after the disaster is resolved.
Difference #2: Prevention and Mitigation
As an extension of the time frame differentiation, disaster avoidance and recovery span the functional gap between prevention and mitigation. Disaster avoidance is primarily geared at preventing a disaster from befalling a company’s hosting arrangement, while disaster recovery is primarily focused on mitigating troublesome symptoms and side effects post-disaster.
Think of it this way: if a car were your company’s hosting system, the built-in air bags would act as the disaster recovery while the driver’s safe driving efforts acted as the disaster prevention. Driving safe, in this example, is a habit the driver has learned that will help prevent a disaster from occurring. Meanwhile, the vehicle’s airbags are always there to help mitigate potential injuries that may occur in light of a disaster.
To extend the metaphor even further, a modern vehicle (like a modern disaster avoidance plan) may include a rear-facing parking camera to help the driver further institute safe driving habits. In this way, the vehicle’s construction plans for and helps the driver actively avoid several of the dangers inherent to the task.
In the end, these differences are primarily conceptual. That being said, this key difference between prevention and mitigation can help both IT and non-IT staff plan for and implement protocols to lessen the chance and impact of a hosting disaster.
Difference #3: Content and Priority Setting
After getting passed the conceptual stages, your team can begin to get down to brass tax regarding the actual content of your disaster plan. This is where some of the most significant differences between disaster recovery and avoidance appear.
For example, disaster recovery often involves establishing recovery point objectives (RPOs) to act as way points after a hosting disaster occurs. These objectives should be based on concrete goals or metrics, such as reestablishing reliable access to core components of the hosted website.
A well-equipped disaster recovery plan should also include concrete plans for backup restoration. This may require your company to set up a content backup system in the first place, if they are not already using one. In either case, this backup system should be double- and triple-checked to ensure that it will work as intended in case your hosted content is not salvageable.
By comparison, a disaster avoidance plan is more likely to include material on best practices for employees modifying or interacting with the hosted material. This can ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page regarding the long-term maintenance of the hosted content’s stability.
Also, most disaster avoidance plans include protocols for replacing faulty hardware before it fails entirely. Though these tend to be small-scale disasters, multiple hardware failures at once can lead to a problematic (and costly) disaster.
Difference #4: Making the Next Move
Finally, your actions following the establishment of either a disaster recovery plan or a disaster avoidance plan differ in a meaningful way. For instance, after agreeing to and instating a disaster avoidance plan, the particulars of the plan should be communicated not only to the full IT team, but also all relevant employees. This can ensure optimal compliance with the plan across the company.
Meanwhile, after placing a disaster recovery plan into action, you will need to spend time evaluating if the plan is working as intended, as well as if the host itself is holding up its end of the bargain. If your recovery plan is taking longer than anticipated, do your best to mitigate your downtime and constantly reevaluate where you can get back on track.
If you find that your current web host isn’t up to par when it comes to disaster avoidance or recovery, consider switching over to ServerPronto. They’ve worked tirelessly to put disaster avoidance at the core of their hosting services, allowing your company to plan for its digital future with confidence.
Chief Tech writer at ServerPronto. Helping businesses grow with useful tech information.
Originally published at https://www.serverpronto.com on June 28, 2019.
