Disaster Recovery Test Gone Wrong

The Backup Wrap-Up

In this eye-opening episode, we examine a real-world disaster recovery test gone wrong from Kodiak Island, Alaska. Our guest Paul Van Dyke shares his story of intentionally taking down an entire server environment over a weekend, armed with only backup tapes and determination. This disaster recovery test example showcases both what not to do and valuable lessons learned.

Paul walks us through his bold 2001 decision to reorganize storage across five servers by completely wiping them all at once. What was supposed to be a weekend project turned into a five-day marathon, including sleeping on his office floor to swap backup tapes. While he eventually succeeded in restoring everything, this disaster recovery test example demonstrates why proper testing and planning are crucial for any major infrastructure changes.

Join us for this candid conversation about backup testing, restoration planning, and the unique challenges of managing IT infrastructure on a remote Alaskan island. Learn from Paul's experience so you don't have to learn these lessons the hard way!