Automated Backups: Schedule and perform automated backups of critical data, applications, and system configurations.
Backup Types: Support various backup types, including full, incremental, and differential backups.
Backup Storage: Store backups in secure, geographically diverse locations, including offsite or cloud-based storage.
Recovery Planning
Disaster Recovery Plans: Develop and maintain comprehensive disaster recovery plans outlining procedures for restoring IT systems and data.
Recovery Point Objective (RPO): Define and manage RPO to specify the maximum acceptable amount of data loss.
Recovery Time Objective (RTO): Define and manage RTO to specify the maximum acceptable downtime for critical systems.
Data Restoration
Data Recovery: Provide mechanisms for recovering data from backups, including individual files, databases, and entire systems.
System Restoration: Facilitate the restoration of applications and operating systems to their pre-disaster state.
Test Restorations: Perform regular tests of data and system restorations to ensure backup integrity and recovery procedures.
Failover and Redundancy
Failover Mechanisms: Implement failover mechanisms to switch to backup systems or locations in case of primary system failure.
Redundant Systems: Maintain redundant hardware and network configurations to ensure high availability and minimize single points of failure.
Monitoring and Alerts
System Monitoring: Monitor the health and performance of backup and recovery systems to ensure they are functioning correctly.
Alerting: Provide real-time alerts and notifications for backup failures, system issues, and recovery events.
Documentation and Reporting
Recovery Documentation: Maintain detailed documentation of disaster recovery processes, configurations, and contact information.
Reporting: Generate reports on backup status, recovery tests, and incident responses for analysis and compliance purposes.
Training and Awareness
Employee Training: Provide training for staff on disaster recovery procedures, roles, and responsibilities.
Awareness Programs: Implement awareness programs to ensure that employees understand the importance of disaster recovery and their role in it.
Compliance and Auditing
Regulatory Compliance: Ensure disaster recovery practices comply with relevant regulations and standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
Audits: Conduct regular audits of disaster recovery procedures and systems to ensure compliance and identify areas for improvement.
Integration
System Integration: Integrate with other IT management systems, such as monitoring tools, incident management systems, and configuration management databases (CMDBs).
Third-Party Services: Integrate with third-party disaster recovery services for additional support and capabilities.
Scalability
Scalable Solutions: Ensure the disaster recovery solution can scale to accommodate changes in the organization’s IT infrastructure and data volumes.
Non-Functional Requirements
Performance
Response Time: Ensure the disaster recovery system can quickly detect issues and initiate failover or recovery processes (e.g., failover should occur within minutes).
Backup Speed: Optimize backup processes to minimize impact on system performance and ensure timely completion.
Reliability
Uptime: Ensure high system availability with minimal downtime for backup and recovery systems (e.g., 99.9% uptime).
Error Handling: Implement robust error handling and recovery mechanisms to manage failures and ensure data integrity.
Security
Data Encryption: Encrypt backup data both in transit and at rest to protect against unauthorized access.
Access Controls: Implement strict access controls and authentication mechanisms to safeguard disaster recovery systems and data.
Incident Response: Develop incident response procedures for handling security breaches and ensuring recovery.
Usability
User Interface: Provide an intuitive user interface for managing backup and recovery tasks, monitoring status, and generating reports.
Accessibility: Ensure that disaster recovery tools and documentation are accessible to authorized personnel.
Maintainability
Code Quality: Ensure high-quality, well-documented code for any custom disaster recovery tools or scripts.
Documentation: Maintain up-to-date documentation for disaster recovery processes, system configurations, and procedures.
Availability
Backup and Recovery: Implement regular backup schedules and ensure that recovery processes are tested and reliable.
Failover Capability: Ensure failover systems and processes are tested regularly and are capable of handling unexpected disruptions.
Portability
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Ensure that the disaster recovery solution is compatible with different operating systems and hardware platforms used by the organization.
Vendor Independence: Design the system to minimize dependence on specific vendors to avoid potential issues with vendor lock-in.
Supportability
Technical Support: Provide mechanisms for obtaining technical support and resolving issues, including help desks, online resources, and customer service.
Error Reporting: Include functionality for reporting issues or bugs and tracking their resolution.
