Intelligent Disaster Recovery Significantly Decreases Downtime

Through the development of specialized applications for Microsoft Windows networks, Symantec has simplified and automated the process of preparing for and recovering all data and system information from a point in time due to a disaster. Using the Symantec Backup Exec for Windows Servers Intelligent Disaster Recovery (IDR) Option, network servers and application servers — such as those used for Microsoft Exchange or SQL Server — are quickly and easily recovered to the point of the last backup, complete with the identical configuration of the operating system, user profiles, applications, and data.

Unique to IDR is the ability to recover to the last incremental, differential, or working set backup, not just the last full backup, as is the case with other disaster recovery products.  As a result, local and remote systems and data are recovered to a point in time closer to the actual disaster than what is offered by other products, and the recovery process takes less time.

IDR also provides a simple and flexible way to modify system configuration during recovery for customized configurations of fault-tolerant disk mirroring, disk volumes, and others. This includes Backup Exec software’s unique ability to deal with hardware changes during the disaster recovery procedure. With Backup Exec, restoring exact hardware, such as like hard drives and adapters, is not required in order to complete an IDR operation. Intelligent Disaster Recovery is the only disaster recovery solution that allows users to specify new hard-disk information, RAID configurations, and network configuration cards.

DISADVANTAGES TO THE MANUAL DISASTER RECOVERY PROCESS
The manual disaster recovery process has three major disadvantages. First, the manual disaster recovery process is open to human error. Second, without an automated, integrated solution, the unprepared user or system administrator faces a lengthy and laborious course of action to revive a failed system. Moreover, the many hours of valuable time for the user, system administrator, or consultant to first recover and then restore a network server can adversely affect productivity. Third, the manual disaster recovery method is technically complex.

Manual Disaster Recovery is Time Consuming
As we have discussed, the manual disaster recovery process is riddled with complexity and prone to unexpected results. More importantly, during the recovery/restore process, the server is unavailable. When the failed system is a mission-critical server running business applications that the organization depends on daily, this can seriously impact the business and its revenue, not to mention individual productivity of all those who rely on the server. Even if the failure affects only a single workstation, the productivity impact on the user and the business can be significant.

Manual Disaster Recovery is Technically Difficult
The manual disaster recovery process is complex and can take hours to complete because it involves a series of manual steps:
• Repairing or replacing the failed hard disk or equipment
• Collecting critical system configuration information (assuming it is documented) and recovery media
• Manually re-partitioning and formatting the hard disk
• Manually reinstalling the operating system
• Manually reinstalling updates, drivers, profiles, etc.
• Manually reinstalling the backup application
• Identifying and finding the last backup tapes
• Re-cataloging the backup tapes
• Restoring the data and applications on the backup tapes

Mistakes made at any point can prevent the recovery of the system causing the administrator to have to re-start the manual process from the beginning.

INTELLIGENT DISASTER RECOVERY AUTOMATES AND INTEGRATES THE PROCESS
Symantec takes a new approach with Intelligent Disaster Recovery — automating the disaster recovery function and closely integrating it with the backup and restore functions of Backup Exec. Integration with Backup Exec provides a more intelligent solution that enables quick and easy recovery of local and remote Windows servers to the point of the last backup. Failed systems are fully recovered, complete with the identical configuration of the operating system, user profiles, updates, applications, and data.

Since the Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option is highly automated, it minimizes human intervention, and therefore the possibility of human error. Moreover, the Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option integrates recovery and backup and restore to provide an automated solution that:
• Alleviates system administration by integrating two typically separate processes (system and data recovery)
• Minimizes downtime through guided and automated system recovery operations
• Eases the impact a downed server has on personal productivity and business processes
• Reduces the total cost of ownership
• Simplifies the highly complex technical procedure of disaster recovery

And the product is extremely cost effective, with the user realizing a return on investment (ROI) in a single use.

Unlike the manual process described previously, with the Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option, the system administrator does not need to know the details of network configurations, volume partition sizes, user profiles, etc. All configuration data is automatically protected by the backup function and is available to the disaster recovery engine when needed. By eliminating the need for human intervention, the Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option ensures that the system is recovered accurately.

The Intelligent Disaster Recovery Option is a key and strategic complement to routine backup procedures. By automating and integrating the disaster recovery process with backup and restore technology, IDR protects against system disasters and reduces the time required to recover critical network servers. A summary of the benefits of IDR include:
• Minimized recovery with the only point-in-time recovery process of local and remote systems
• Automated step-by-step wizard system that easily walks the user through the recovery process
• Complete recovery of any Windows server or workstation including all partitions, registry, and configuration information
• Integration with Backup Exec updates disaster recovery information as part of each backup
• Flexible recovery that is not limited to the same hardware or configuration

As a world leader in the protection of Windows systems and data, Symantec continues to evolve Intelligent Disaster Recovery solutions in support of customer goals to reduce the administrative burden and total cost of ownership of business networks.

Bennett Office Technologies uses IDR as part of the monthly Proactive IT program.  Contact your technician at Bennett Office Technologies to ensure you are using Intelligent Disaster Recovery on your network today!