Data centers are built to be resilient to disaster, but there are some incidents — hurricanes, tornados, and a certain pandemic comes to mind — that no single data center can be prepared for. With so many possible scenarios, having a strong disaster recovery (DR) plan in place is critical for businesses, large and small.
While there are several considerations one must make when searching for a primary and secondary site to house IT assets, geographic diversity is at the top of the list when it comes to mitigating the risk of IT infrastructure downtime in the event of a disaster. DataBank, a leading provider of enterprise-class data center, connectivity and managed services, recently wrote,
“Your recovery site should be far enough from your primary that it doesn’t face the same risks in the case of a disaster. The optimal distance will vary depending on a risk assessment of your primary site and the nature of your application/data – those at high risk of natural disasters may require a considerable distance, while those with a lower risk of a natural disaster may seek out a site nearby on a different power grid or simply connected to an alternate carrier hotel in the market to minimize localized risk.”
To read more about DataBank’s take on choosing the best primary and secondary homes for your IT assets visit the DataBank website and download the newest white paper, “A Field Guide for Adding Geographic Diversity to Your Disaster Recovery Plan”.
