AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS): Your Comprehensive Guide

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS), an innovative solution that leverages the scalability and cost-effectiveness of AWS for disaster recovery purposes. In this post, we’ll cover key questions and insights about AWS DRS to help you understand its capabilities, benefits, and how to get started.

What is AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery?

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS) transforms traditional disaster recovery by eliminating the need for costly duplicate recovery sites that remain idle most of the time. Instead, it utilizes AWS’s efficient resources to maintain an up-to-date copy of your source servers, allowing you to pay only when you use the service for drills or actual recovery needs. This approach not only saves costs by reducing idle resources but also ensures that your recovery site is always ready and updated.

Key Features of AWS DRS

• Unified Recovery Process: AWS DRS provides a streamlined process to test, recover, and fail back a wide range of applications without needing specialized skills.
• Non-Disruptive Drills: You can test your disaster recovery readiness anytime with non-disruptive drills using the AWS DRS Console.
• Flexible Recovery Options: Quickly recover your applications on AWS in the most updated state or from a selected point in time. AWS DRS handles the conversion of your source servers so that they run natively on AWS.
• Failback Capability: After resolving issues at your primary site, AWS DRS facilitates the failback of your applications whenever you’re ready.

Why Choose AWS as Your Disaster Recovery Site?

Using AWS for disaster recovery offers several advantages:

• Elasticity: Quickly scale your disaster recovery site according to your needs.
• Cost-Effectiveness: Pay for what you use, helping you manage costs effectively.
• Global Infrastructure: Benefit from AWS’s extensive and secure global infrastructure.
• Compliance and Security: Access robust security and compliance tools integral to AWS services.

Getting Started with AWS DRS

To begin using AWS DRS, Aligned Technology Group will perform a detailed DRS buildout on AWS following the AWS Well-Architected Framework and the AWS Security Reference Architecture. The buildout will consist of:

• Developing the foundational EDR blue prints
• Target AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)
• Infrastructure, replication configuration and user access upon which resources delivered in subsequent phases will be built. This includes:
• Initial Assessment and Design
• Meet with the Customer to identify and develop scope of disaster recovery.
• Document planned solution, including: Identify target region to be used for DR.
• Create public cloud account to be used for DR.
• Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) architectures

Supported Infrastructures and Systems

AWS DRS supports a broad range of infrastructures, including:

• Physical servers
• VMware vSphere
• Microsoft Hyper-V
• Cloud infrastructure from other providers
• Recovery of Amazon EC2 instances across different regions or availability zones

Operational Systems and Applications

AWS DRS supports all major operating systems like Windows and Linux and critical databases and applications, including Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, and SAP. This wide range of support ensures that almost any application or database can be effectively recovered using AWS DRS.

Disaster Recovery Plan and Drills

A disaster recovery plan is essential for outlining the steps and procedures to recover IT systems in the event of a disaster. AWS DRS supports the execution of these plans through recovery and failback drills, ensuring minimal disruption during data replication and maintaining continuity in your business operations.

Upgrading and Security

For those transitioning from CloudEndure Disaster Recovery to AWS DRS, AWS provides detailed documentation to ensure a smooth upgrade process. Additionally, AWS DRS ensures the security of your data during transit and at rest, with options for using private connectivity to enhance data protection.

Conclusion

AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery (AWS DRS) offers a robust, scalable, and cost-effective solution for managing disaster recovery in the cloud. Whether you’re dealing with ransomware recovery or need a dependable failback option, AWS DRS provides the tools and capabilities to ensure your applications and data are protected and quickly recoverable.

For further details on security, data encryption, and the operational specifics of AWS DRS, refer to the AWS DRS documentation and reach out to one of our cloud specialists below.