Appointment of Recovery Manager

The first order of business is to appoint the Recovery Manager. The person most appropriate for the position is the current Director of Computing Services. If the Director is unavailable, the appointment should be made by the Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Administration (VCFA) or by the Chancellor. This person must have data center management experience and must have signature authority for the expenditures necessary during the recovery process. You can refer to DRPDR006: Disaster Recovery Teams for the responsibilities of the Recovery Manager and a suggested list of people who can fill this and other coordinator roles.

Determine Personnel Status

One of the Recovery Manager's important early duties is to determine the status of personnel working at the time of the disaster. Safety personnel on site after the disaster will effect any rescues or first aid necessary to people caught in the disaster. However, the Recovery Manager should produce a list of the able-bodied people who will be available to aid in the recovery process.

The Recovery Manager should also quickly appoint the Administrative Support Coordinator, whose responsibility it will be to identify anyone injured or killed in the disaster. The Administrative Support Coordinator will work with families and employees, ministering to their needs and obtaining counseling services as necessary.

Taking care of our people is a very important task and should receive the highest priority immediately following the disaster. While we will have a huge technical task of restoring computer and network operations ahead of us, we can't lose sight of the human interests at stake.

Equipment/Media Protection and Salvage

A primary goal of the recovery process is to restore all computer operations without the loss of any data. It is important that the Recovery Manager appoint the Technical Coordinator quickly so that he can immediately set about the task of protecting and salvaging any magnetic media on which data may be stored. This includes any magnetic tapes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and disk drives. The section DRPDR011: Equipment Protection and Salvage contains valuable information on salvaging damaged magnetic media.

Establish the Recovery Control Center

The Recovery Control Center is the location from which the disaster recovery process is coordinated. The Recovery Manager should designate where the Recovery Control Center is to be established. If a location in the Administrative Services Building is not suitable, BELL 108K has been designated as the off-site location of the center.

Activating the Disaster Recovery Plan

The Recovery Manager sets the plan into motion. Early steps to take are as follows:

1. The Recovery Manager should retrieve the Disaster Recovery Lock Box located in BELL 108M and open it to obtain an up-to-date copy of the Disaster Recovery Plan. This plan is in printed form in the box as well on computer media (diskette or CD-ROM). Copies of the plan should be made and handed out at the first meeting of the Recovery Management Team. The Recovery Manager is responsible for the remaining contents of the Lock Box, which should probably be relocked if possible.

2. The Recovery Manager is to appoint the remaining members of the Recovery Management Team. This should be done in consultation with surviving members of the Computing Services staff and Physical Plant management, and with upper university administration approval. The Recovery Manager's decision about who sits on the Recovery Management Team is final, however.

3. The Recovery Manager is to call a meeting of the Recovery Management Team at the Recovery Control Center or a designated alternate site. The Dean or Associate Dean of Engineering is to be invited to this meeting. The following agenda is suggested for this meeting:
   1. Each member of the team is to review the status of their respective areas of responsibility.

   2. After this review, the Recovery Manager makes the final decision about where to do the recovery. If the BELL 108 suite is to be used, the Recovery Manager is to declare emergency use of the facility and notify the Dean or Associate Dean of Engineering immediately.

   3. The Recovery Manager briefly reviews the Disaster Recovery Plan with the team.

   4. Any adjustments to the Disaster Recovery Plan to accommodate special circumstances are to be discussed and decided upon.

   5. Each member of the team is charged with fulfilling his/her respective role in the recovery and to begin work as scheduled in the Plan.

   6. Each member of the team is to review the makeup of their respective recovery teams. If individuals key to one of the recovery teams is unavailable, the Recovery Manager is to assist in locating others who have the skills and experience necessary, including locating outside help from other area computer centers or vendors.

   7. The next meeting of the Recovery Management Team is scheduled. It is suggested that the team meet at least once each day for the first week of the recovery process.

4. The Recovery Management Team members are to immediately start the process of contacting the people who will sit on their respective recovery teams and call meetings to set in motion their part of the recovery.

5. The Dean or Associate Dean of Engineering is responsible for immediately clearing the Recovery Control Center room, BELL 108K, for occupation by the Recovery Management Team. This includes the immediate relocation of any personnel occupying the room. The Dean or Associate Dean should assist the Administrative Coordinator in locating baseline facilities for the recovery room:
   1. Office desks and chairs

   2. Telephones

   3. IBM-compatible personal computers (Pentium, 32MB memory, 1.0GB hard drive, 2MB video card, SVGA 17-inch monitor, 28.8K modem, ethernet card, CDROM drive, 3.5-inch diskette drive, keyboard, mouse)

   4. Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer

   5. Fax machine

   6. Copier

6. Mobile communications will be important during the early phases of the recovery process. This need can be satisfied through the use of cellular telephones and/or two-way radios. The University has an existing contract with Alltel Mobile for cellular service, and the Physical Plant has two-way radio units that may be available upon request.

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