University IT
Annual Disaster Recovery Exercise: Preparation Overview
This page outlines the key areas service owners are expected to review and validate in advance of each Annual UIT Disaster Recovery Exercise.
This page is designed to support service owners in preparing for the Annual UIT Disaster Recovery Exercise by providing a centralized reference for commonly reviewed information, documentation, and validation activities. Exercise-specific planning and coordination activities will continue as part of the annual exercise cycle.
1. Ownership & Scope
Ensure the right people and applications are clearly identified and aligned for the exercise.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| System Name | System or service included in the exercise scope |
| Team Lead | Responsible for exercise coordination, planning meeting participation, and providing recovery status during the exercise |
| Team Members | Supporting personnel for execution during the exercise |
| Applications in Scope | Applications included in the disaster recovery and exercise testing scope |
2. Recovery Objectives & Architecture
Confirm recovery expectations and system design are current and understood.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| RTO (Recovery Time Objective) | Expected time to restore service, including technical recovery, validation activities, and business testing. For the annual exercise, RTO is measured as the combined duration of recovery and validation testing activities plus business testing activities. |
| System Architecture Design | Current architecture documentation |
| System Slack / Separation of Responsibilities | Diagram of roles across infrastructure, platform, and application teams |
| EC2 Instance Names | Names of AWS EC2 instances associated with the system or service |
3. Documentation & Plans
Validate that all required recovery documentation is complete and current.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Disaster Recovery Plan | Link to the formal UIT Disaster Recovery Plan document for the system or service |
| Infrastructure / Additional DR Documentation | Supporting technical and disaster recovery documentation related to the system or service |
| Exercise Test Plan | Documented approach for executing the exercise, including recovery validation, functional testing, and verification of critical business transactions or workflows |
4. Validation & Readiness
Ensure systems remain aligned with operational and security expectations and that any significant changes since the previous exercise are documented and reflected in recovery procedures.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Changes Since Last Exercise | Summary of significant changes since the previous exercise or confirmation that no material changes have occurred |
| MinSec Requirements (Cloud Instances) | Validation against current minimum security requirements for applicable cloud systems |
5. DR Instance Access Preparation (Cloud Systems)
Ensure all recovery and testing team members have the appropriate access to system disaster recovery EC2 instances prior to the exercise.
- Submit additions to system EC2 security group using the standard intake form: Access Request Form.
- Requests should be submitted the day prior to the exercise if possible.
- Access will be provisioned by the assigned exercise system administrator
- On exercise day, access requests will be handled by the on-call support team.
Additional Notes
Capture any risks, assumptions, or considerations relevant to the exercise.
