Testing is an essential part of disaster recovery planning. All too frequently, just creating a disaster recovery plan results in a false sense of security. If you don’t test your disaster recovery plan, there’s a risk that it won’t work when you really need it.
Whenever possible, you should choose a remote site recovery strategy that you can test frequently. Testing your disaster recovery process has the following benefits:
After each test, use the detailed logs and schedules to identify any errors in your procedures, and eliminate them. Retest the changed procedures, and then incorporate them into your recovery plan. After changing the recovery plan, completely revise all existing disaster recovery documents.
Make frequent tests early in the implementation of your disaster recovery plan. Once you have removed the major problems, you can test less frequently. The frequency will depend on: