How do you evaluate and improve your SAN disaster recovery capabilities and maturity?

1 Assess your current SAN DR situation

The first step is to assess your current SAN DR situation by conducting a risk analysis, a business impact analysis, and a gap analysis. A risk analysis identifies the potential threats and vulnerabilities that can affect your SAN and their likelihood and severity. A business impact analysis quantifies the financial and operational consequences of a SAN disruption on your business processes and objectives. A gap analysis compares your current SAN DR capabilities and resources with your desired recovery objectives and requirements.

2 Define your SAN DR goals and metrics

The second step is to define your SAN DR goals and metrics based on the results of your assessment. Your SAN DR goals should align with your business continuity and recovery objectives, such as the recovery point objective (RPO), which is the maximum acceptable amount of data loss, and the recovery time objective (RTO), which is the maximum acceptable amount of downtime. Your SAN DR metrics should measure the effectiveness and efficiency of your SAN DR plan, such as the recovery rate, which is the percentage of data restored, and the recovery duration, which is the time taken to restore the data.

3 Design your SAN DR strategy and architecture

The third step is to design your SAN DR strategy and architecture based on your SAN DR goals and metrics. Your SAN DR strategy should outline the methods and procedures for protecting, replicating, and restoring your SAN data in case of a disaster. The SAN DR architecture should specify the hardware, software, and network components and configurations for implementing the strategy. Common SAN DR strategies include backup and restore, snapshot and clone, replication and mirroring, and failover and failback. Backup and restore involves copying your SAN data to a secondary storage device for restoration when needed. Snapshot and clone involves creating a point-in-time copy of your SAN data that is duplicated to another storage device or location. Replication and mirroring synchronizes your SAN data between two or more storage devices or locations in real-time or near-real-time for high availability. Finally, failover and failback involves switching your SAN operations from a primary site to a secondary site in case of a disaster.

4 Implement and test your SAN DR plan

The fourth step is to implement and test your SAN DR plan based on your SAN DR strategy and architecture. You should document your SAN DR plan in detail, including the roles and responsibilities, the steps and sequences, the tools and resources, and the communication and escalation channels. You should also test your SAN DR plan regularly, either as a simulation or a live exercise, to verify its functionality, performance, and reliability. You should record and analyze the results of your tests, such as the success rate, the error rate, and the deviation from the expected outcomes.

5 Monitor and review your SAN DR performance

The fifth step is to monitor and review your SAN DR performance based on your SAN DR metrics. You should collect and analyze data on your SAN DR activities, such as the frequency, duration, and scope of the backups, snapshots, replications, and failovers. You should also evaluate the impact of your SAN DR actions on your business operations, such as the service level agreements, the customer satisfaction, and the revenue. You should use dashboards, reports, and alerts to visualize and communicate your SAN DR performance to the relevant stakeholders.

6 Improve and optimize your SAN DR processes

The sixth and final step is to improve and optimize your SAN DR processes based on your SAN DR performance. You should identify and prioritize the areas and opportunities for improvement, such as the gaps, weaknesses, inefficiencies, and risks in your SAN DR plan. You should also implement and measure the effectiveness of the improvement actions, such as the changes, enhancements, upgrades, and innovations in your SAN DR strategy, architecture, plan, or tools. You should follow a continuous improvement cycle to ensure that your SAN DR capabilities and maturity are always aligned with your business needs and expectations.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?