When disaster happens in my virtual environment, there is no one single tool I have implemented, configured, or created to help me get my environment back up and running. There are 3 must-have "tools" I want to help me during such crises → first and foremost my Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plan (BCDR); second, Veeam's Instant VM Recovery (IR); and third, Veeam Immutability.
When a an unwanted or unwelcomed situation arises, each of the above listed tools provides me with the following:
- Having a BCDR Plan gives me a sense of direction and clarity I need to begin tackling the disruption
- When the recovery process starts, Veeam Instant VM Recovery provides me with speed and confidence to meet my Recoery Time Objective (RTO) Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
- And with Veeam Immutability configured, I have assurance and trust in knowing the data I'm recovering hasn't been tampered with; and I'd couple this with using Veeam's Scan Backup feature using Veeam Threat Hunter for added ease of mind
The first tool I want available to me is my base plan of action – my BCDR Plan. Why? Well, to help describe why this is, it's critical to understand what each Plan covers:
- A Business Continuity Plan provides the framework and processes required to ensure the business can continue to operate despite various disruptions
- A Disaster Recovery Plan is a reactive strategy focused on restoring IT operations (infrastructure, systems, applications, and data) after some form of incident
Although these documents cannot account for every possible incident, they certainly provide me a solid framework to respond to nearly any disruption, whether a site outage, ransomware attack, or even disgruntled former employee. If your organization doesn't already have either one of these in place, I strongly encourage you to begin developing both as soon as possible.
The 2nd tool I'd choose is Veeam Instant VM Recovery. This is another critical tool for my recovery strategy. Unlike Entire VM Restore, Veeam IR provides a faster restore process allowing critical workloads to be brought online quickly and help me meet my RTO recovery SLAs to help my org get back to normal operations as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Finally, the last tool I want is Immutability. Having my Backup data Immutable provides me with the trust and confidence the data I am restoring hasn’t been altered or compromised. And, as mentioned previously, I'd pair this with Scan Backup using Veeam Threat Hunter. In my opinion these two Veeam technologies go hand-in-hand by helping ensure my recovery data is both protected and secure.
There you have it, the tools I want in my arsenal and why I want them, when my organization faces the unexpected. What tool(s) would you want?
