Disaster Recovery (DR) architecture defines the technical processes, data replication models, and backup configurations required to restore core processing infrastructure following a catastrophic platform failure, data center disruption, or ransomware encryption event.
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │                 LIVE PRODUCTION DATABASE               │
  └───────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┘
                              ▼
                [REPLICATION INFRASTRUCTURE]
                              │
                              ▼
  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │              DISASTER RECOVERY COMPONENT               │
  │   • Hot Site   ──► Real-time data sync; immediate      │
  │   • Warm Site  ──► Scheduled sync; manual system spin  │
  │   • Cold Site  ──► Tape recovery; multi-day manual boot│
  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

DR environments are structured into three primary configurations based on business recovery requirements:
  1. Hot Site: A fully operational, mirror image of the production environment that receives real-time data replication. It can assume processing workloads almost instantly if the primary data center fails, supporting low RTO and RPO targets.
  2. Warm Site: Contains the required hardware and network infrastructure, but requires loading recent data backups and activating applications manually before it can support production workloads, resulting in a recovery window of several hours.
  3. Cold Site: A physical facility with power and cooling, but no pre-installed server hardware or live data assets. This option requires shipping hardware components, installing operating systems, and restoring data from offsite backup media, resulting in a recovery process that spans days or weeks.

 
PreviousNext