#091: IT Preparedness for Hurricane Season

It’s that time again: Hurricane Season. Let’s talk about a topic that we’ve definitely covered before on the podcast; however, it’s always good to get a refresher. Unlike other natural disasters like earthquakes, locusts, etc., we have enough forecast data to reasonably predict where a hurricane will make landfall. This gives IT organizations ample time to execute disaster recovery operations to keep data and applications safe. In this podcast, we’ll recap the two main topics we discuss with customers when talking about hurricane preparedness.

Podcast #91 for April 13, 2023

Hope Everyone enjoyed our 3 part series on Cybersecurity.
Plug for David Bombal’s YouTube Channel – https://www.youtube.com/@davidbombal (Thanks Chad Mattox!)
Plug for TV Show “Mr. Robot” w/Rami Malek on Amazon Prime Video

Preface: It’s that time again: Hurricane Season. Let’s talk about a topic that we’ve definitely covered before on the podcast; however, it’s always good to get a refresher. Unlike other natural disasters like earthquakes, locusts, etc., we have enough forecast data to reasonably predict where a hurricane will make landfall. This gives IT organizations ample time to execute disaster recovery operations to keep data and applications safe. In this podcast, we’ll recap the two main topics we discuss with customers when talking about hurricane preparedness.

Hurricane Season: June 1st —> November 30, 2023

Talk about the tools and strategies

DRaaS:
Realtime Replication Services: Extremely quick recovery

Zerto (VENYU’s Current Solution) — Integrates with VENYU Public Cloud
Veeam CDP – Not fully VENYU Supported, but available in private cloud scenarios
Cohesity CDP – Not fully VENYU Supported, but available in private cloud scenarios

Backup and Recovery Services: Not so quick, but doable

Maybe replication technology services are needed for all workloads
- Utilize offsite point-in-time backup/recovery services from Evault, Veeam, Cohesity
  - Public/Private Cloud Recovery

Understand your RPO and RTO of each workload, application, and server

RPO: Recovery Point Objective — How much data can you lose without causing a business issue
RTO: Recovery Time Objective — How long does it take to bring up workloads, applications/services

Business Continuity:
Remote working provisions:

Do non-disruptive failover tests to verify that your workloads/applications can be properly recovered.
Understand your users requirements for working remotely (or from a POP) to the DR site.
- Are customers working remotely? Are they comfortable with VPN technology?
- What are the end-user devices? Laptops, tablets, phones, etc.
- Is there a list of DR Locations for end-users to work from?
- Remote Desktop Services for virtual/shared desktop experience
- Citrix for virtual/shared desktop experience for customers needing more flexibility
- VPN Connectivity to the DR Site
- DR Tests don’t just involve IT— IT involves EVERYONE.

Network and cybersecurity considerations

Use the same cybersecurity best practices in a DR environment as you would in production.
Preconfigure firewall rules, ACLs, etc. — way ahead of hurricane season

Bottom Line: HAVE a plan…something…have offsite backups at least!…and test, test, test…