disaster recovery plan for sage pastel evolution

Sage Pastel Evolution Disaster Recovery Plan of 21

Disaster Recovery Plan for Sage

Pastel Evolution

Version control Version

no. Date Change

1.0 14.04.2013 Original


Preamble

The key objective of a disaster recovery plan is to detail the key activities required to

reinstate the critical ERP and related services within the agreed recovery objectives. This

plan should be used as a guide line and refined with the help of an IT specialist and

incorporated with the overall business continuity plan.

The DRP contains four main areas:

For the purpose of this guide, a disaster is any situation in which the day-to-day access to

data (for example, working files, software programs, or system files) is disrupted. A

disaster can also damage network components such as data, devices, hardware, media,

and software.

A disaster can be the result of any one or a combination of the following:

Computer viruses that can destroy data

Hardware and software failures

Infrastructure interruptions, inconsistencies, or loss of services such as

communication or network connections

The degree of loss during a disaster can range from one or more files lost when a disk

crashes to an entire computer system. The degree of severity of the disaster determines

the procedures you might need to perform to recover data on your computer.

It is important to develop a plan for recovering from different types of disasters on the

Sage Pastel Evolution Server computer. Where branch accounting is in place, the DRP

needs to be put in place for the head office as well as all branches. You need to back up

important data on the Server computer on a regular basis. You also need to develop and

test a plan for recovering your data should you experience a severe disk problem or loss of

data. The more time and effort you invest in developing and testing your backup strategy

and disaster recovery plan, the better prepared you will be in the event of a disaster.

Data

Hardware

Software

Infrastructure


Contents

Planning .......................................................................................... 5

1. Data Backups ............................................................................ 5

2. Hardware ................................................................................. 6

3. Software .................................................................................. 6

4. Infrastructure............................................................................ 6

5. Disaster Recovery Documentation ................................................... 7

Testing ........................................................................................... 8

Disaster Recovery Process .................................................................... 9

Addendum ...................................................................................... 12

1. Install guides ........................................................................... 12

2. Custom exports......................................................................... 12

3. Microsoft SQL backup and restore guide ........................................... 15

Backup a database. ...................................................................... 15

Restore the database. ................................................................... 17

4. Suggested DRP documentation template .......................................... 20


Planning

1. Data Backups

The data is the core of the ERP system and as such, business critical.

When determining the backup intervals the following should be kept in mind:

How important is the data on your systems? The importance of data can go a long

way in helping you determine if you need to back it up—as well as when and how it

should be backed up. For critical data, such as a database, you'll want to have

redundant backup sets that extend back for several backup periods. For less

important data, such as daily user files, you won't need such an elaborate backup

plan, but you'll need to back up the data regularly and ensure that the data can be

recovered easily.

How often does the data change? The frequency of change can affect your decision

on how often the data should be backed up. For example, data that changes daily

should be backed up daily.

How quickly do you need to recover the data? Time is an important factor in

creating a backup plan. For critical systems, you may need to get back online

swiftly. To do this, you may need to alter your backup plan.

Do you have the equipment to perform backups? You must have backup hardware

to perform backups. To perform timely backups, you may need several backup

devices and several sets of backup media. Backup hardware includes tape drives,

optical drives, and removable disk drives. Generally, tape drives are less expensive

but slower than other types of drives.

Who will be responsible for the backup and recovery plan? Ideally, someone should

be a primary contact for the organization's backup and recovery plan. This person

may also be responsible for performing the actual backup and recovery of data.

What is the best time to schedule backups? Scheduling backups when system use is

as low as possible will speed the backup process. However, you can't always

schedule backups for off-peak hours. So you'll need to carefully plan when key

system data is backed up.

Do you need to store backups off-site? Storing copies of backup tapes off-site is

essential to recovering your systems in the case of a natural disaster. In your off-

site storage location, you should also include copies of the software you may need

to install to re-establish operational systems.

Sage Pastel recommends the following backup strategy:

Backups should be made at close of business by the trained Sage Pastel system

administrator.

Daily backups should be made of all databases to an external media device (for

instance a flash drive, CD or DVD)

Weekly backups should be made of all databases to an external media device (for

instance a flash drive, cd or DVD) to be stored off site in the case of natural

disaster.


Where possible, online backups should be used. Services like Pastel IronTree,

DropBox, and SkyDrive should be utilised to store all backups.

Copies of the Sage Pastel Evolution and Microsoft SQL install files should be stored

offsite.

2. Hardware

It is important to document the system specifications of the servers hosting the data. In

the event of failure, the server can be easily replicated without any inadvertent

complications.

A simple yet effective business backup solution, a cold site is simply a reserved area on a

data center where your business can set up new equipment in the event of a disaster. This

is a popular disaster recovery method because it tends to be less expensive than other

options, yet still gives a company the ability to survive a true disaster.

When your primary server machine is unavailable, you need to provide your users with

access to a substitute machine that can run the ERP software and has access to up-to-date

copies of the SQL server files and databases. In the event that both the SQL server and

application server fails, or the application and database runs on the same machine, the

SQL server will need to be recovered as well.

Make sure that the redundant server machines have the same hardware, operating

systems, and file system. Use consistent file system names and, in Windows environments,

consistent drive letters.

3. Software

It is recommended to document the exact version of Microsoft SQL and Sage Pastel

Evolution installed on the server be documented and copies of the installation files be

stored off site.

4. Infrastructure

It is recommended that in the event of failure, the network infrastructure be setup by a

trained network technician.


5. Disaster Recovery Documentation

It is important to document the following:

Location of backups.

Location of installation files.

Hardware specifications

Roles and responsibilities, along with contact details.

Infrastructure specifications:

File system configuration

Fully qualified Domain Names, IP addresses, and hostnames

For Domain Name Service (DNS) clients, maintain the DNS host's internet

address and its hostname

Hard drive configuration information

Media device names

Hardware vendor contact information and contract number

Configuration information for each piece of hardware, both active and inactive


Testing

A disaster recovery (DR) test is the examination of each step in a disaster recovery

program, as outlined in the disaster recovery (BCDR) planning process.

A disaster need not always be a fire or a flood. It can also be an unexpected hard disk

failure or a power failure or even a hard disk failure or unexpected partition damage, or a

virus attack. Needless to say during the trial run of the plan, you would come across

several circumstances that you forgot to account for while formulating the plan. Make

careful note of all such factors and reformulate the plan with due consideration for the

new factors.

Disaster recovery testing helps ensure that an organization can recover data, restore

business critical applications and continue operations after an interruption of services.

The primary function of a DR test is to fully evaluate an organization's business continuity

and disaster recovery plans. The testing process allows an organization to conduct plan

maintenance and train staff about disaster recovery procedures.

Disaster recovery tests should be conducted on a regular basis. Communications, data

recovery and application recovery are typically a focus of all disaster recovery testing.

Sage Pastel recommends that DRP be tested at the onset of the ERP implementation and

thereafter twice yearly.


Disaster Recovery Process

Is the server recoverable?

Have a trained technician inspect

the server

Revert to secondary server

Is correct software installed?

Refer to Evolution and SQL install

guide - Install the software

Is the database

intact?

Refer to restore guide – Restore the

database

NO

YES

YES

NO

IsEvolution

registered?

Send registration details to the Sage

Evolution registration team

YES

NO

Can all users access server

Contact the network

administrator

YES

NO

Do you use branch

accounting?

Go to separate

data integrity

check

Print reports listed and confirm

balances

YES

YES

START

END

NO

Reports to compare

Trial balance

Accounts Payable age analysis

Accounts Receivable age analysis

Inventory valuation


For branch accounting, the following processes needs to be followed to ensure data

integrity:

Scenario 1 (Head office intact, branch in recovery):

Head Office Branch 1

1 Stop all Sync Monitors

2 Determine last date of import

3 Perform custom export as per branches

last date of import

4 Process all missing transactions

5 Synchronise

6 Synchronise for all branches

7

Run reports for branch and compare:

Trial balance



Inventory valuation

If errors are found, escalate to business

partner or Sage Pastel


Trial balance



Inventory valuation



8 Process as normal Process as normal

Scenario 2 (Head office in recovery, branch intact):

Branch 1 Head Office

1 Stop all Sync Monitors

2 Determine last date of import

3

Perform custom export as per Head

Office's last date of import

4 Synchronise

5 Process all missing transactions

6 Synchronise for all branches

7


Trial balance



Inventory valuation




Trial balance



Inventory valuation




The branch process needs to be replicated for every branch.


Scenario 3 (Head office and branch in recovery):

Branch 1 Head Office

1 Process all missing transactions Process all missing transactions

2 Synchronise for all branches Synchronise for all branches

3


Trial balance



Inventory valuation




Trial balance



Inventory valuation





Addendum

1. Install guides

The latest Sage Pastel Evolution and Microsoft SQL install guide can be found on the Sage

Pastel DVD on the following folder: Documentation.

2. Custom exports

The custom exports need to be made from the same dates as from which the backups was

made. The custom exports can be made in the following manner:

To perform a custom export, Click on the custom export button in the sync monitor.

You have two options when doing a custom export.

1. “Re-export Changes”.

This option allows you to re-export a specific changeset-id and its underlying

dataset. You can select the change set in the window, or if the change set is not

visible, click the Show More button.


2. “Modified Data Range”

This option allows you to specify changes within a specific data range. You can

override the start date, which means that Evolution will look at all changes

subsequent to that date. If you do not specify an end date, Evolution will look at

all changes after the start date. Start dates are mandatory. If you select the

“earliest” option, this will look at the earliest date that it can find records in the

database for – “Include Unmodified Records” will include records where no

changeset Id is present.

Regardless of the option you choose, you can specify the output path. This path functions

the same as your “Local Root” path specified in your sync configuration and is only valid

for the custom export – this is helpful when you are performing multiple custom exports

and you do not want to override the various files.

The moment you click OK, the custom export will start.


3. Microsoft SQL backup and restore guide

Backup a database.

To back up the AdventureWorks database on the BKKSQL2005 instance.

1. Connect to source server. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and

connect to BKKSQL2005.

2. Right-click on the AdventureWorks database. Select Tasks -> Backup…

3. On Back Up Database window, you can configure about backup information. If

you’re not familiar these configurations, you can leave default values. Here are

some short descriptions.

1. Database - a database that you want to backup.

2. Backup type - you can select 2 options: Full and Differential. If this is the

first time you back up the database, you must select Full.

3. Name - Name of this backup, you can name anything as you want.

4. Destination - the file that will be backup to. You can leave as default.

Default will backup to “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL

Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup”.

5. Click OK to proceed backup.


4. Wait for a while and you’ll see a pop-up message when backup is finished.

5. Browse to the destination, you’ll see a backup file (.bak format) which you can

copy to other server for restore in the next step. Default backup directory is

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup”.


Restore the database.

To restore the AdventureWorks database from a file created above to instance BK01BIZ001

which runs Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition.

1. Copy the backup file from source server to destination server. I’ve copied into the

same directory as source server.

2. Connect to destination server. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

Express and connect to BK01BIZ001.

3. Right-click on Databases. Select Restore Database…

4. Restore Database window appears. On Source for restore, select From device and

click [...] buttton to browse file.


5. On Specify Backup, ensure that Backup media is “File” and click Add.

6. On Locate Backup File, select the backup file. This is the backup file that was

created in Backup a database section and was copied to this server. Click OK. OK.

7. Back to Restore Database window.

1. On Destination for restore, select “AdventureWorks”.

Note: If you haven’t added the backup file on Source before (step 4-6), you

won’t see the database name on Destination.

2. On Source for restore, check the box in front of the backup name (in

Restore column).

3. Click OK.


8. Wait until restore finish and there’ll be a pop-up message notify.

9. You will now see the restored database on the destination SQL Server.


4. Suggested DRP documentation template

The following is a suggested template to be used to record server, backup, software and

infrastructure information to be used during the disaster recovery process. It is merely a

guide and should be amended where needed.

Application Server details

Server location

Operating System

Administrator username

Administrator password

Computer name

Domain

IP address

Hard drive capacity

Processor

Installed RAM

Microsoft SQL Server details

Server location

Operating System

Administrator username

Administrator password

Computer name

Domain

IP address

Hard drive capacity

Processor

Installed RAM

Microsoft SQL version

SA username

SA password

FTP site (if applicable)

FTP site

FTP username

FTP password

Sage Pastel Evolution

Sage Pastel Evolution version

Sage Pastel Evolution administrator username

Sage Pastel Evolution administrator password

Data backup location

Onsite backup location

Offsite backup location


Roles & Responsibilities

Role Name Emergency contact number

IT Technician

Network Technician

Sage Pastel System Administrator

Sage Pastel Support

disaster recovery plan for sage pastel evolution

Documents

disaster recovery process

loss of data

important data

data backups

agreed recovery objectives

software programs

computer viruses

entire computer system