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The most robust DR solutions might also be cost prohibitive. These solutions might require weighing the costs compared to the risks and determining the level of DR protection that is necessary. Factors to consider as part of a cost and risk analysis include:
Determine the recovery-time objective (RTO) for each application or service. RTO is the maximum amount of time unavailability before the business impact becomes too great. Examples include:
Determine the recovery point objective (RPO). RPO is the amount of data loss that is acceptable for a subset of data.
Example: Configure a PowerStore snapshot to protect a volume (and its workload) every 24 hours. The RPO is 24 hours. This means up to 24 hours of data loss might occur if you recover the volume or workload from the last snapshot. Increase the frequency of PowerStore snapshots to shorten the RPO.
Determine the types of events that are most likely to occur in your area. For example, a coastal location might be likely to experience a hurricane or flooding.
Identify an alternate site that is sufficiently distant so that the same event does not impact both locations.
Determine the cost of the DR solution. Is the cost justified given the risk?