Hedge funds have known for some time the importance of having an effective disaster recovery solution in place. Recent regulations increasingly enforce this as a key principle for business operations. For any system to be effective, however, there are a number of factors which need to be considered prior to implementation.
The following disaster recovery infrastructure checklist provides a guideline of important factors to consider when evaluating hedge fund disaster recovery solutions for your firm.
Network
- Ensure your disaster recovery solution provider has redundant network equipment.
- Consider using multiple network providers. Some co-location facilities have over 30 network providers for maximum redundancy.
Power
- There should be multiple power sources, ideally sourced from different power grids.
- Backup UPSs should be installed with diesel-powered generators located within the facility.
- The generators should be running on onsite fuel. Look for providers that use onsite fuel that can last a few weeks.
Air Conditioning
- Servers and other systems generate a significant amount of heat, making backup cooling systems a key component of a disaster recovery facility.
- Check for redundant crac units, alternate path cooling lines, etc.
Security
- For data and telecommunications, your disaster recovery partner should deploy an uncompromisingly high level of security through technologies such as:
- Virtual private networks (VPNs);
- Virtual local area networks (LANs);
- Firewalls and more.
- Physical security is also important. Ensure the provider has 24-hour manned security at the disaster recovery facility as well as cameras and digital monitoring throughout.
- The use of biometric devices (e.g. fingerprint or retinal scanners) is now common practice.
Redundant Systems
- Independent of the technology, routers or T1 lines, providers should have their site configured in an “N+1” configuration in which multiple components have at least one independent backup component to ensure system functionality continues in the event of a disaster or outage.
Storage
- The best deployments use Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) methodologies to “stripe” data across systems for performance and data mirroring for improved protections and availability. Striping means that all available hard drives are combined into a single, large virtual file system, with the blocks of the file system arrayed so that they are spread evenly across all drives.
Application Software
- Ideally, your remote-site provider can accommodate multiple strategies, including redundancy, clustering, load balancing and warm standby (in which the application is loaded, but not running).
About the Author
Bob Guilbert is managing director of products and marketing at Eze Castle Integration. The scope of his efforts ranges from maximizing the value of the company’s brand, to establishing core strategic partnerships and developing new product lines for the company.
Eze Castle Integration supports the technology needs of hundreds of hedge funds. You can register for free access the ECI’s Hedge Fund Disaster Recovery Knowledge Center, which includes a comprehensive resources to help you in your disaster recovery and business continuity planning.
