Cloud DR
A failover location in HC Cloud for systems that must not be down for long.
Your infrastructure stays where it is. The systems that must be working again quickly after an outage are replicated into HC Cloud; we design the solution for the recovery time you set, and confirm with a test that it meets it.
A system outage rarely stays just the IT department’s problem. When systems are down, invoicing, deliveries and obligations to customers stall as well, whether the cause is an equipment failure, an error at work or a ransomware attack.
For recovery you need a second location the systems can move to, and a procedure that has been tested before you need it. A second location of your own means extra equipment, space and maintenance.
With Cloud DR the failover location is HC Cloud. Production stays with you, in your data centre or with the provider where it is today. Replication runs from there into HC Cloud.
How the switchover works
Systems start up in HC Cloud
Following a procedure prepared in advance and in a set order: the database first, then the application, then the services that use it.
Business carries on
Users work with the systems in HC Cloud until the primary location is back in service. How they reach them is decided during the design.
Back to your own equipment
Once the primary location is ready again, the systems return to it by the same procedure.
When a switchover is triggered and who decides is written into the contract. That decision is not made only during an incident.
How the recovery time is set
The recovery time is set at the start.
We start from which processes must not stall, how long they can be unavailable and how much data may be lost. If you already have this written in a business continuity plan, we work to it. Otherwise we set the targets (RTO and RPO) together with you. We design the solution to meet them, and a test at the end of the rollout confirms it. With the managed option the agreed targets are written into the contract and monitored continuously.
The specific values depend on your environment and the connection to HC Cloud, so they are determined in the design phase.
The recovery time written in the plan is the time we have to meet as well.
Backup and recovery
Backup
A backup keeps data from the past so you can restore it.
Recovery
Recovery makes the whole system — operating system, settings and data — work again at another location.
They solve different problems, so one does not replace the other, and most companies need both.
What the solution includes
Continuous and agentless
Changes are carried over continuously, not in scheduled cycles. There are no agents on the systems, and production works normally during replication. How much data is actually transferred depends on the volume of changes and on the connection to HC Cloud.
The application as a whole
The virtual machines of a single application return to the same point in time and start up in a predefined order, so the application works immediately after a switchover.
This applies to virtualised environments. Systems that are not virtualised we handle separately.
Back to the moment before the incident
The journal keeps recovery points going back; we agree the length with you, up to 30 days. For longer retention, immutable storage is available that not even an administrator can change or delete. In a ransomware attack, the system is returned to a clean point.
An annual test with no impact on production
One test per year per protected system is included in the service: 12 hours of test operation, scheduled in advance. The test environment is isolated, so you need no maintenance window and no weekend work. After each test you receive a report.
Who carries out the recovery
The technical basis is the same in both cases. The only difference is who does the operational part.
Managed
We take on replication monitoring, running the tests and the response during an incident. Suitable for teams without in-house recovery expertise.
Run by your team
Replication runs on our side, while monitoring, tests and the incident response are led by your team. Suitable for experienced IT teams.
Monthly, based on protected systems
A monthly fee per protected system, based on the chosen journal length. Resources at the failover location are charged only when the systems actually run there, during a test or in a real incident. The scope is set according to the number of systems, storage, resources and the daily volume of data changes.
One conversation is enough for a first scope estimate
A list of the systems you want to protect and the recovery targets are enough to estimate the scope and price.
From the first conversation to the first test
Scope and targets
Which systems must come back, in what order and within what time. If you already have this in a business continuity plan, we work to it.
Design
We prepare the solution to meet those targets. The scope of replication, the capacity at the failover location and the startup order follow from them.
Setup
Replication, orchestration and the switchover procedure. The first replication cycle runs while production works normally.
First test
An actual switchover to HC Cloud in an isolated environment. We compare the result with the target from step one.
Regular operation
Replication monitoring, the annual test and updating the solution as your environment changes.
Data stays in Slovenia or the EU
Where in HC Cloud the copies of your systems reside we choose at the start of the project, according to what the regulations, a parent company or client contracts require. The data can stay in Slovenia or at another location within the European Union.
When you also have to prove recovery
Entities in scope under the Information Security Act (ZInfV-1) have to show at an audit that recovery works. For them there is Cloud DR and compliance: the same solution, together with documentation that comes out of the tests, and support during the audit. If you need business continuity as a whole system — with processes, roles, plans and exercises — we prepare that too, with the same team.
Cloud DR and complianceRecovery with documentation for a ZInfV-1 audit.PREBERI VEČ »A conversation with our team
The conversation includes the engineer who designs the solution and a colleague from the security and compliance team. We look at:
- which systems should be protected and within what time they must come back,
- how recovery would work in your environment and what connection to HC Cloud is needed,
- whether any regulation applies to you and what it requires for recovery.