Disaster Recovery Plan: Discover More About Requirements for Attaining Your Goal

7/30/2019 Disaster Recovery Plan: Discover More About Requirements for Attaining Your Goal

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8-06IT Disaster Recovery Plan

Policy

The equipment, software systems, and databases that comprise the electronic Private HealthInformation (ePHI) System are critical components that enable RACS to function in an effectivemanner. The purpose of this plan is to provide the framework for recovering from any disasterthat might affect these systems, to minimize downtime, and to assist users in meeting theircritical processing requirements.

HIPAA Security Regulations Addressed In This Policy

164.308(a)(7)Disaster Recovery Plan

AttachmentsAttachment A (Disaster Recovery Team), B (Items for Complete System Recovery), C (SystemRequirements)

Guidelines

A. The decision to implement IT disaster recovery procedures is the responsibility of the ITManager or her designee. The Disaster Recovery Team, (see Attachment A), willconvene as soon as possible after a disaster has occurred to assess damages andmake recommendations to the IT Manager.

B. This plan is distributed by the IT Analyst and used by those persons responsible for itsimplementation and operation. These individuals are identified in Attachment A,Disaster Recovery Team Members. This document will be maintained and updated byRACS IT Staff whenever significant changes occur. Updates are performed at thedirection of the IT Manager. The IT Manager forwards the updated document to theLeadership Team for approval.

C. The Disaster Recovery Team is established and organized to assess the damage to thecomputer systems and capabilities, to implement and coordinate recovery/backupactions, and to make recommendations to the IT Manager. The team consists ofpersons responsible for one or more of the following functions:

1. Recovery administrationa. Insurance Notificationb. Supplies

c. Organization2. Systems Software3. Application Software4. Communications5. Operations6. Facilities7. Hardware

The IT Manager serves as the Chairperson of the Disaster Team. In the absence of
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the IT Manager, the IT Analyst is to serve as the Chairperson. The DisasterRecovery Team meets on an as needed basis as changes occur, or, at least,annually to discuss current documentation and make recommendations for changes.

The IT Manager must approve all changes before they are forwarded to theLeadership Team for final approval.

In the event of a disaster or major failure, members of the team assess system andinfrastructure damages.

D. Daily backups of the complete system and databases, critical to the restoration ofservice,are stored in a fireproof container or file cabinet on site (see IT Backup Policy).

A weekly backup will be stored offsite in a bank safety deposit box. The IT Backuppolicy insures that the most current full system backup and the most recent fulldatabase backup are stored far enough away from their respective servers to be safe inthe case of fire or natural disaster.

E. In the case of fire or natural disaster it may become necessary to move the computerroom to a backup location or alternate site. It may not be necessary to move thecomputer room; alternate equipment may be put into service as a temporary measure.

Procedures

Several recovery processes are identified, depending on the circumstances:Disaster Preparation.Being ready and planning ahead is the easiest way to quickly and fully recover froma disaster. This section outlines the minimum steps needed to insure full recoveryfrom a disaster:

The IT Manager or designee is responsible for insuring implementation of and

compliance with the following requirements:

1. The disaster plan is kept current and all of the employees on the recovery teamare made aware of any changes.

2. The off-site storage area is inspected; at least quarterly, to insure it is clean,organized and that the correct backups are in storage.

3. A full set of the latest version of every file, patch, driver and software packageneeded to recreate the server is created and stored off-site in a locked fire-proof container. The IT manager, IT Staff and certain key designees have theonly keys to this storage container and they are each individually responsible forthe security of her key.

4. Any fire fighting systems or equipment located in network server rooms are

properly maintained.5. Employees are advised of the consequences of a disaster and what they can dowhile recovery is in progress.

6. Minimum & Recommended specifications for replacement hardware, located inAttachment C, are kept current. The minimum requirements allow for flexibility inacquiring temporary replacement equipment to restore basic services (either fullor degraded) during the acquisition of new permanent replacement equipment.

In the event that there is warning of an impending disaster, e.g. potential flood


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situations, severe weather activity in the immediate area, fire or potential buildingdamage, the following steps are initiated by the first recovery team member to bemade aware of the situation.

1. Notify as many recovery team members as possible.2. The Executive Director and the IT Manager are briefed and a decision is

made whether or not to shut down the systems.3. The recovery team convenes and develops a remedial plan of action.

Emergency Response.These are the first actions taken in an emergency situation, designed to bring thecomputer systems back to operation. The computer systems may be functioning in adegraded state or not at full capacity temporarily.

1. The IT Manager or designee is notified by the initialDisaster Recoveryteammember and made aware of an emergency situation as soon as possible.

2. The IT Manager or designee insures that the Disaster Recovery Team membersare notified and assembled as soon as reasonable under the circumstances.3. Team members assess damages in their individual areas of expertise.4. Team members advise the IT Manager as to the extent of damage and recovery

procedures necessary so that the decision to move the computer center orrestart on an alternate equipment platform can be made.

5. All unit directors are informed, by the designated team member, of the decisionand given an estimated time to the return to either full or degraded service.

6. The unit directors will notify their staff via the best means available.7. Disaster Recovery Team members will supervise their own area of expertise.8. The IT Manager, Chief Financial Officer and unit directors are contacted, by the

designated team member, to determine if needed replacements are available in-

house or if emergency purchase orders will need to be created.

Recovery Procedures.

These are the procedures designed to return the computer systems to a fullyoperational, or a degraded state, including bringing up the alternate site orequipment as circumstances necessitate.

Recovery from a complete failure to a degraded mode of service may be necessary.In this case it may be possible to bring up individual locations on a priority basis.The decision to operate in a degraded mode and the order in which locations arebrought back into service is made by the IT Manager in consultation with the DisasterRecovery Team.

If it is decided to transfer the computer center to the alternate site the designatedteam members will take the following steps:

1. Insure that the basic Emergency Responseprocedures have been followed.2. Create an inventory of the status of existing equipment (functional or

damaged) and files (OK or corrupted).3. Coordinate the movement of equipment.4. Contact IT Staff and determine equipment availability. If necessary, insure

that emergency Purchase Orders are created for replacement equipment.
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5. Determine if a new offsite (backup) storage facility is required. If a new siteis required, immediately identify the site and coordinate its activation.

6. Test all hardware systems as soon as they are available.

7. Install Network Operating System (NOS), and other low-level software.Create NOS volumes emulating the configuration of the downed server asoutlined in Attachment B, Section 2.

8. Communications, networking, operations and applications softwareemployees prepare to install and or setup their individual function in theappropriate order.

9. Advise Executive Director of the progress and/or impediments at regularintervals.

If it is decided to transfer operations to alternate equipment but not move the datacenter location, the designated team member(s) will take the following steps:

1. Insure that the basic Emergency Responseprocedures have been followed.2. Determine the extent of the damage and develop a plan to bring the system

back on line.3. Test all hardware systems as soon as they are available.4. Install Network Operating System (NOS), and other low-level software.

Create NOS volumes emulating the configuration of the downed server asoutlined in Attachment B, Section 2. Prepare to support and or adjustindividual components

5. Advise Executive Director of the progress and/or impediments at regularintervals.

Recovery Timetable--The following timetable does not take into account the amount

of time required to input data held on hard copy during the recovery period, orinputting data that may have been lost during recovery. Phases represent units ofmeasure that vary in length depending on the severity of the disaster.

Phase I Convene the disaster recovery team and assess damages, determineequipment needs and initiate replacement, discuss options andpossible solutions.

Phase II Restore programs and data, test integrity of programs and data.Begin restoring communications and networking capabilities.

Phase III Restore partial operation to priority locations.Phase IV Determine priority of data processing.Phase V Take delivery and setup new equipment. Restore full communications

and networking capabilities. Work with departments to verify data andoperation of applications.

Disaster Recovery Plan Review -- The following steps are taken to insure that the DisasterRecover Plan is current, feasible and effective:

1. During November of every year the Disaster Recovery Team convenes toreview the Plan and Appendices. Updates or revisions will be made at thistime.


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2. The contents of the off-site disaster backup tape storage are subjected tounannounced periodic audits by the IT Manager or her designee. Results ofthe audit will be documented and reported in writing to the IT manager.

Effective 01 May 06


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Attachment A: Disaster Recovery Team

IT Manager

IT Analyst

Other Designated IT Staff

QI Director

Chief Financial Officer


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Attachment B:Items for Complete System Recovery

Section 1: Software, Data and DocumentationItems needed for complete system recovery of the current servers:

CMHC IBM 7025/F50 RS/6000

RACSB-APPS-1 Dell Power Edge 1750

RACSB- FILE -1 Dell Power Edge 1750

Webserver-BUI IBM eServer X Series 235

All the below listed items are kept, as per IT Data Backup Policy, in a fireproof storage box orfile cabinet.

Dell OpenManage Server Assistant Software to configure the new servers hardware.Bootable tape to create a Root partition on the CMHC server.Emergency Recovery Disks or tapes for all servers (CMHC,RACSB-APPS-1,RACSB- FILE -1,Webserver-BUI)CONFIGURE.txt file of configuration information needed to restore the servers and networkconnections with detailed instructions of procedures.Windows Enterprise Server 2003

All current Service Packs and Upgrades for Windows Enterprise Server 2003UNIX AIX 4.x OSCopy of Cisco IOS configuration filesCisco IOS 12.3 (for Router)CMHC BUI Install disksSymantec Antivirus 8.1Veritas Backup Exec 9.0Microsoft Exchange 2003 and all related service packs and upgrades

All required drivers for peripherals and interface cards.Backup tapes.

Section 2: Recovery Procedure

RACSB-APPS-1, RACSB-FILE - 1 procedure:Boot up from Dell Server Assistant CD to install drivers and Windows Server 2003Operating SystemCreate RAID partitions and then create a 25 Gigabyte Operating System Partition.Reinstall Windows Server 2003 Operating System, Service Pack(s), and SecurityUpdates from Microsoft, in OS partition

Recreate Data Partitions if necessary.Install Exchange 2003, service packs and security updates (if needed), Symantec

Antivirus, Dell Systems Management software and Backup Exec software.Restore for the most recent backup tape.Reconfigure network interface settings.Reconnect to network


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Webserver BUI- procedure: Boot from Install Disk for Windows Server 2003 and install OS and all service packs

and security updates to primary partition.

Restore basic partitions, if needed. Install IBM drivers for SCSI card and tape drive

Install BUI Software and configure IIS and Apache applications.

Verify connection to CMHC UNIX server and BUI sign-ons.

CMHC UNIX procedure:Contact vendor for additional support, if needed.

Boot up server from last complete backup tape by pressing 5 key on keyboard toboot from tape.

Load UNIX Sysback and restore data.


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Attachment C:System Requirements

Minimum Specifications For RACS Server(s)

The minimum requirements for a temporary CMHC server are:4 GB DAT backup tape driveProcessor: 166 PowerPC RISC 604eMemory: 768MBStorage space: 8GB SCSI (2 4GB for mirroring)SCSI CD ROMNetwork Interface Card14.4 ModemIBM UNIX AIX 4.3 OS

The minimum requirements for a temporary RACSB Windows-based or BUI server are:

DAT backup tape driveProcessor: 1.2GHzMemory: 512MBStorage space: 40GBCD ROMNetwork Interface Card (and modem for BUI)Windows Enterprise Server 2003 (Windows Advanced Server 2000, if 2003 isntavailable)

Recommended Specifications For MIS Server(s)

The recommended server specifications for running the CMHC system for 80 users and at thecurrent development level of the software are:

DAT backup tape driveProcessor : 1.5GHz Multi-ProcessorMemory: 1GBDual-channel Ultra2 SCSI controllerStorage Space: 72GB SCSI (2 36.4GB for mirroring)Network Interface Cardv.92 56K ModemSCSI CD ROMIBM UNIX AIX 5.x


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The recommended server specifications for running the RACSB Windows based or BUI serversfor 150 users and at the current development level of the software are:

DAT backup tape driveProcessor: 2.3 GHz Dual Processor or betterMemory: 1GBDual-channel Ultra2 SCSI controllerStorage space: 320GBNetwork Interface Card (and modem for BUI)CD-ROMWindows Enterprise Server 2003

Documents

Disaster Recovery Plan: Discover More About Requirements for Attaining Your Goal