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Dear Clients and Friends,
Welcome to the first edition of the NetSpedite Bulletin! The purpose of this bulletin is to provide you with timely tips and insights to help assure your small office and home office IT peace of mind. I hope you find these brief notes interesting and practical. Have a great summer, stay cool and don't forget to keep your equipment cool as well.
Respectfully,
Scott
Disaster Planning & Recovery
As a smart business or home PC user, you always need a plan for when the unexpected happens to your computers and/or network. A Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is essential in helping to ensure that critical data is not lost due to a power or equipment failure.
A DRP doesn't have to be overly complicated. You just need to cover the basic things that it will take to get back up and running again if something bad happens. Here are some items that should be in every good disaster recovery plan: |
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Backup's, Backup's, Backup's!
Most of us think about backup's right after we've lost everything in a fire, flood, or burglary. Regular backups must be performed and tested for reliability. Backup media should be checked regularly, and at least one copy should be stored offsite or in a fire-proof safe. Another good resource that is increasingly available is an online backup service. For commercial and HIPPA compliant options see your vendor contract to make sure they guarantee encryption and security. For the home user there are more and less expensive options. But the key here is convenience: Online backups are usually automated and easily verified; it also makes recovering critical files in case of a failure much faster.
As an IT consultant there are many things that can be done to make a failure more of an inconvenience than a disaster, but the most critical is access to your data. Without your data you may be Out of Business! | |
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Document Critical Information
If you encounter a major disaster, you're going to lose a lot of information that may not be inside of a file. This information will be critical to getting back to normal and includes items such as:
- Make, model, and warranty information for all your computers and other peripherals
- Account names and passwords (for e-mail, ISP, wireless routers, wireless networks, admin accounts, System BIOS)
- License codes for any online backup service you may be using
- Software license information (list of installed software, license keys for re-installation, version info) Original installation media if at all possible
Support phone numbers (for ISP, PC manufacturer, network administrators, tech support) |
Plan for Getting Back to Normal
Test and update your DRP regularly. Make sure you keep your DRP up-to-date with all the latest information (updated points of contact, software version information, etc.).
Check your backup media to make sure it is actually backing something up and not just sitting idle. Check the logs to make sure the backups are running on the schedule you setup, and test the restore ability of your backup regularly to ensure that the backup is usable if required.
For an evaluation of your current procedures, or help with design and implementation of your DRP, call Scott at NetSpedite 973-580-1818.
NetSpedite, LLC Copyright 2012 Peace of Mind......Guaranteed!
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