REL13-BP01: Define recovery objectives for downtime and data loss
Establish clear Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) based on business requirements, regulatory compliance, and cost considerations. These objectives serve as the foundation for selecting appropriate disaster recovery strategies and technologies.
Implementation Steps
1. Conduct Business Impact Analysis
Assess the business impact of downtime and data loss for each workload and system component.
2. Define RTO Requirements
Establish maximum acceptable downtime for each system based on business criticality.
3. Define RPO Requirements
Determine maximum acceptable data loss for each system based on data criticality.
4. Consider Regulatory Requirements
Factor in compliance and regulatory requirements that may dictate specific recovery objectives.
5. Document and Communicate Objectives
Create clear documentation and ensure stakeholder alignment on recovery objectives.
Detailed Implementation
AWS Services
Primary Services
- AWS Backup: Centralized backup service for defining RPO requirements
- Amazon CloudWatch: Monitoring and metrics for impact assessment
- Amazon DynamoDB: Storage for recovery objectives and assessments
- AWS Cost Explorer: Cost analysis for recovery objective planning
Supporting Services
- AWS Well-Architected Tool: Assessment framework for recovery planning
- AWS Config: Configuration tracking for compliance requirements
- Amazon S3: Document storage for business impact analyses
- AWS Systems Manager: Parameter management for recovery configurations
Benefits
- Clear Requirements: Well-defined RTO and RPO objectives guide technology decisions
- Business Alignment: Recovery objectives based on actual business impact
- Compliance Assurance: Objectives that meet regulatory requirements
- Cost Optimization: Right-size DR investments based on business value
- Risk Management: Quantified understanding of downtime and data loss impact