Disaster Proofing Information Systems: A Complete Methodology for Eliminating Single Points of Failure / Edition 1

by Robert W. Buchanan, Richard R. Devenuti

Overview

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Does Your Business Continuity Plan Rely on Prevention or Cure?


Nobody wants to shell out a lot of money for something they'll use once or, with any luck, never. But that's where most corporations find themselves today. Network managers see disaster recovery as outside their jurisdiction, and therefore as a competitor for system resources. External incentives to deploy disaster recovery from customers and partners may be pressing, but internal incentives are working against them.This book provides a methodology responsive to those problems. With careful planning, it can actually improve system performance instead of encumbering it. Even if your organization isn't budgeted for disaster recovery planning, you can implement this methodology now, at minimum cost, and reap immediate returns. For companies already invested in system protection software, Buchanan shows network managers how to get started on impact and risk assessment, protection planning, policymaking, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071409223
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	10/01/2002
Series:	Professional Telecom Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.78(d)

About the Author

Robert W. Buchanan, Jr. is president and CEO of Shiloh Network Solutions (SNS), a start-up software company developing a new generation of proactive network analysis tools for clustered systems within the enterprise and Internet market. Prior to SNS, Mr. Buchanan was the managing partner in Shiloh Consulting, an independent network consulting company that provides network and e-business planning, management, and testing services to product manufacturers and Fortune 500 companies. He also served 4 years as Sr. Vice President, General manager, and COO at LANQuest Labs, a network consulting company and independent test lab. During his tenure there, he was responsible for the development of new network testing procedures and several QA and performance testing products under contract with companies such as Intel, Cisco Systems and 3Com Corporation. Before LANQuest, Mr. Buchanan spent 7 years in software product management and marketing at 3Com Corporation where he was responsible for the EtherSeries and 3X network operating systems. Mr. Buchanan also has experience managing technical organizations: at ROLM he managed software development and computer operations, and at Lockheed Corporation he managed advanced development groups of engineers in a large IT organization.

In February 1997 Mr. Buchanan second book, Measuring the Impact of Your Web Site, was released. This book was well received and has been translated into both Kanji and Dutch. His first book, The Art of Testing Network Systems, was published in 1996, and remains popular today. He is currently working on a fourth book for 2003 on performance tuning clustered server configurations. Mr. Buchanan has written many articles for networking journals including LAN Magazine, Network World, CNEPA Journal, and Network Expo. He has spoken and taught at Interop, Networld, Network and PC Expos, and Comdex. He also teaches IT courses at the University of Phoenix.

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xi
	Introduction	xiii
Part I	A SHARED Methodology for Disaster Avoidance across Enterprise, B2B, and B2C Systems	1
Chapter 1	Avoidance Versus Recovery	3
	What Is Disaster Recovery?	7
	What Is Business Continuity?	12
	What Is Disaster Avoidance?	13
	How Daily Business Operations Benefit from Disaster Avoidance	17
Example 1	Web Site Co-location	18
Example 2	Intranet or Enterprise Workgroup Servers	19
Example 3	Home Office	22
Example 4	Mobile Wireless Access	23
	Business Benefits	24
	B2B and Business-to-Customer (B2C) Disaster Avoidance	24
	Small Business Disaster Avoidance	25
Chapter 2	Business Continuity Requirements	27
	The SHARED Objective of Analyzing Business and System Needs	28
	The Process of Analyzing Business-User-Customer Needs	33
Step 1	Business Overview	34
Step 2	Data Flow Dependencies	39
Step 3	Technology Dependencies	44
Step 4	Prioritizing Existing Operational Problems	48
Step 5	Future Operational Requirements	48
Steps 6 and 7	Personnel and Facilities	49
	Financial Considerations	55
	B2B Requirements	59
	Small Business Requirements	60
Chapter 3	Developing a Disaster Avoidance Strategy	61
	Disaster Avoidance Alternatives for Critical Systems	62
	Hardware Platforms	64
	Co-location	64
	Hot/Warm Standby or Failover	69
	Hot or Cold Restoration	72
	Applications	74
	Data Store	75
	System Access	77
	Infrastructure	78
	Access Devices	81
	Shared Information (Intranet and E-business)	85
	Small Businesses	86
	Disaster Avoidance Best Practices	86
	Performance Improvements Through SHARED Disaster Avoidance	88
	Availability as a Function of Disaster Avoidance	92
	Capacity/Scalability Enhancements	93
	Maintenance and Deployment Enhancements	93
Chapter 4	Integrating Business Continuity and Disaster Avoidance Needs	95
	Mating Business Requirements to Disaster Avoidance Alternatives	96
Step 1	Prioritize Order	98
Step 2	Map Requirements	100
Step 3	Define Exact Requirements	101
Step 4	End User and Facility Requirements	104
Step 5	B2B Requirements	107
Step 6	Financial Analysis	107
	Example 2 - B2B Supply Chain Management	112
	Analyzing Business-User-Customer Needs from Chapter 2	114
	Mating Business Requirements to Disaster Avoidance Alternatives	118
	Business Continuity and Disaster Avoidance--Added Cost	123
	Deployment and Validation Is Critical to Success	124
Part II	Implementing the SHARED Architecture	127
Chapter 5	Access Devices	129
	Best Practices	130
	Asset and Configuration Management	131
	Data Synchronization and Recovery	134
	Products and Procedures	136
	Handhelds	136
	Palm Handhelds	136
	Windows CE Handhelds	139
	Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry--Integrated Wireless Products	140
	XcelleNet Afaria Products	141
	Desktops and Laptops	141
Chapter 6	Platforms	143
	Best Practices for Availability and Reliability	144
	Platform Simplicity	144
	Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS)	146
	Clustering	146
	Co-location	148
	Reduce Planned Downtime	152
	Reduce Unplanned Downtime	153
	Use Network Load Balancing (NLB)	153
	Use Data Store Redundancy	153
	Best Practices for Performance and Scalability	154
	Best Practices for Management and Security	155
	Products and Procedures	156
	Microsoft Windows	157
	Sun Solaris	161
	IBM	162
	Veritas	162
Chapter 7	Applications	165
	Best Practices	166
	For Disaster Avoidance	167
	For Operations and Development	169
	Products and Procedures	174
Chapter 8	Data Store	177
	Critical Business Applications' Shared Data Store	181
	Critical Remote Data Store Synchronization	182
	Local Productivity Data Files	184
	Data Sharing	185
	File Replication	187
	Best Practices	188
	Databases	188
	File Replication	190
	Physical Data Storage	192
	Products and Procedures	194
	File Replication	194
	Database Transaction Replication	196
	SANs and Network Storage	198
Chapter 9	Infrastructure	203
	Infrastructure Requirements	204
	Best Practices	207
	Avoid Chatty Communication	209
	Network Load Balancing (NLB)	209
	High-Speed Data Links	213
	ISPs for User Access	215
	CO or Wire Centers	216
	Products and Services	216
Chapter 10	B2B, B2C, B2G, and Small Business Needs	219
	Best Practices	222
	Use Standards	225
	Integrate the B2X Environment with Existing Back-End Systems	226
	Isolate the B2B Environment from the Rest of the Systems for Security Purposes	227
	Coordinate Disaster Avoidance and Recovery	228
	Products and Procedures	229
	Small Businesses	231
Chapter 11	Validation and Testing	235
	Life Cycle	236
	Test Objectives	237
	Testing and Systems Management	239
	Methodology	240
	System Versus Component Tests	243
	Validating the Components	243
	Validating the System	243
	Validating B2X E-commerce	244
	Test Preparation	245
	Test Bed Setup	246
	Tools	248
	Load Models	249
	Testing	251
	Instrumentation	252
	Loading	253
	Measuring	254
	Analyzing	256
	Evolution	259
	Index	261