Mastering Disaster
A DATA CENTER CHECKLISTDisaster Doesn’t Sleep
It’s not always a hurricane or a power grid failure thatcauses businesses to lose their data.
More often than not, an isolated event like a pipe burstingon the floor above you, or a fire below you can be just ascatastrophic. In fact, technology failure and human error
are the major culprits in most data loss cases.
Regardless of what initiates the problem, a disaster isa disruptive event that threatens the stability of yourbusiness. But with the right Data Center partner, theimpact of an event doesn’t have to be a catastrophe.

The effect on a business thatloses its data
• 50% of businesses that lose data for 10 days or more filefor bankruptcy within 6 months• 93% fail within a year
• 20% of companies reported losses from outages costthem from $50,000 to over $5million. *But with a Disaster Recovery plan in place, it
doesn’t have to be YOUR business.

l THINK NEXT. PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED.

50% of businesses
that experience data
loss for 10 daysor more file forbankruptcy
immediately, and93% fail within ayear. But with a
Disaster Recovery
plan in place, it
doesn’t have to be
YOUR business.

Table of Contents

Disaster-Resistant Infrastructure

1

Documentation and Drills

2

Thinking Ahead and Spare Parts

3

Communication

4

Experience and Innovation

5

Disaster-Resistant
Infrastructure
Anticipating interruptions and failures needs should bebuilt into the ecosystem of your Data Center. Take a tour
with the Facilities Manager. Discuss various scenarios,
get an understanding of their infrastructure, what pointsof failure exist and how they are prepared to handle
emergencies.

Discuss manyscenarios

The number one priority is to establish the facility isdesigned with N+1 redundancy for power and cooling,which gives you the resiliency you need.

N+1
redundancy

Ask if the facility is designed to operate independently of
the power grid and that backup generators are in placeand operational.

Seamlessfail-over

What is their fail-over protocol? If hardware or routers fail,what happens? Is the network also redundant? Are their
network devices connected to separate patch panels? No
detail is too small when it comes to redundancy.

The rightpeople

Look for a secure, power-protected and reliable Data
Center infrastructure, along with the right people that canmitigate access to and restore your data, IT systems andmanagement controls.
Businesses depend on the accessibility and uptime of
mission-critical systems and applications daily business
functionality. Even brief periods of downtime may resultin huge financial loss, disrupted operations, or have legal
ramifications.

1

Knowing what tolook for in yourData Center
provider’s own
Disaster Recovery
Plan and how thestaff responds inan emergency canassure continuity foryour business.

Documentation andThe Importance of Drills
A carefully documented and tested Disaster Recovery
plan assures that your Data Center operations teamknows how to react in an emergency.
Documentation
is essential

Review theprovider’s plan

Practice makes
perfect

Temporaryoffices2

It should include the communications chain, the taskseach person is responsible for, where to go, how to reachsuppliers and vendors, and an equipment backup plan.
Ask your provider to see their documentation and review itwith them.

Having a plan is crucial, but practicing it
makes it perfect.
The purpose of mock drills is to discover problems sothey can be addressed. The power should be taken off
the grid and the backup generators tested. Equipment,cooling systems and backups should be tested regularly.
Look for a provider who is documenting their test results.
The operations team should be holding mock drills
frequently, so that when a stressful event occurs, nobody
panics. Reacting should be a habit, and with frequent
simulated events, everyone will respond more effectively.
A dedicated Disaster Recovery Data Center may needto serve as a temporary location for your employees,
systems and network operations as you begin therecovery and restoration aspects of your DR-BC plan.

You want to make sure it remains operational
no matter what Mother Nature throws at you.

Your Data Center’s
own Disaster
Recovery Planneeds to be welldocumented and wellpracticed so things
go smoothly underpressure.

Thinking Ahead: Spare Parts
Stocking hotspares

Getting fueldeliveries

Investing insafety

Expertise must
be on site

Even the best disaster planning can fail if even a single
part breaks. A smart Data Center provider knows keeping
hot spares for their equipment can make the difference incontinuing operations.
Strong relationships with fuel providers who supply
generators in cases of long outages such as Sandy kept
some, but not other Data Centers up and running. Ask
your provider what arrangements they have made with
their suppliers.
Vendors often cannot deliver parts during emergencies,
so having them on hand is crucial. Planning ahead andinvesting in extra parts costs money, but is well worth thecost to have them in stock.
Ask your provider if there will be someone on-site to swapout parts quickly.
Scheduled maintenance on equipment and batteries iscrucial to preventing failure. Logging repairs can tell theengineers when to replace parts or whole systems. Theprocedure should be monitored by the Facilities Manager,
Engineers and Management.
Ask to see maintenance records, when the last failure
was and where, when equipment was last updated orreplaced. How do they test software before it is deployed?

You want a Data Center provider who thinks
and plans ahead.
3Continuity can hinge
on a single part.
Ask your provider
if they invest in hotspares so that if one
breaks, they have areplacement for it.
Regular testing
and maintenance iscrucial to preventing
equipment failure.
Look at the logs to
see the schedule,
the results and theupgrades.

Communication
In stressful situations, there is a lot of confusion. Effective
communication can keep things under control andleadership in charge.
Chain ofcommunication

Do they haveresources?

Are they sociallyactive?

Your provider needs to have a chain of communicationthat is reviewed and tested regularly, as staff changes,
new technology and changing situations can break thatchain. Mock drills should be performed frequently.
Ask if they have the resources to be proactive with theirown staff, as well as with their customers. Are they
prepared to man the phones 24/7? How do they keep
customers informed?
Social media, texting and email are great ways to keep
customers updated. Having a dedicated staff member
assigned to post updates to keep people informed hourly
goes a long way to giving them peace of mind.
The Data Center’s NOC (Network Operations Center) is
the communications and information hub. They monitor
systems and can sound the alarm if needed.

Is there a chainof command?

4A proactive Data
Center team stays
connected by manningthe phones, postingon social media, email
and by whatevermeans necessary.
They understandhow stressed theirclients are and how
important it is to keepthem informed.

Look for a clear chain of command, multiplelines of communication and a proactive team
to you can rest a little easier in an emergency.

www.telehouse.com

Experience and Innovation
You are dealing with sophisticated equipment in your Data
Center, but it all comes down to the people who run it.
It’s all about thepeople

Look forcollaboration

Proactive andthinks ahead

They can make the difference in a disaster situation.

Look for the team who:•is there 24/7/365•

has the highest level of training and expertise•

collaborates and meets regularly to solve problems•

is dedicated to the health of the facility•

knows what to do in an emergency•

is proactive and thinks ahead•

never relaxes about security and operations

The fastest recovery happens because of strategicplanning, a trained team and proactive communications.

Future-proof your data and your infrastructurewith a trusted partner who is on your side. It
might just save your business form disaster.

5A major financial
client of ours had
a flood in both oftheir office locations,costing them millions
every day they weredown. In response,
TELEHOUSE provided
70 staff members
workspace, phones,
and network
operations for 8
months in our Staten
Island Data Center.
This saved the clientbillions—and it saved
their business.

www.telehouse.com

“Congratulations to all those involved in keeping the Telehouse Staten Island
facility fully functional during Hurricane Sandy. Not once did we experiencea disruption in connections or service. Telehouse has proved it is a first classprovider for colocation services. This was a well-planned, executed and communicated disaster recovery effort, accomplished even as Staten Island wasdealing with a direct hit from the hurricane.
Thanks to all for a job well done.”

Keith A. Heckel, VP of IT Infrastructure, Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management

About Telehouse
A provider you
can trust

You want a provider you can trust, especially when things
get tough.
As a proven recovery specialist, TELEHOUSE mitigates
the risks associated with downtime by offering customers
access to its Disaster Recovery Business Continuity site
located in the Teleport Center on Staten Island (NY).

25 years ofuptime

Enjoy peace ofmind

This facility’s clients have never lost critical power in its
25 years of operations. In the event your primary site
is compromised and unavailable, or your organization
experiences an outage due to unpredictable events orforces outside of your control, our dedicated Disaster
Recovery Data Center can serve as a temporary location
for your employees, systems and network operations as
you begin the recovery and restoration aspects of yourDR-BC plan.
TELEHOUSE offers our customers the peace of mind ofknowing that their critical IT infrastructure is protectedwith our disaster recovery services.

l Mastering disaster means planning and THINKING NEXT6

Contact Telehouse

Call us at 718-355-2500
or email sales@telehouse.com
Ask us about mastering disaster.