Automated Recovery Workflow Orchestration for Disaster Resilience
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current disaster recovery operations in large-scale enterprise environments are labor-intensive and time-consuming, often requiring manual codification of recovery processes for non-virtualized and non-cloud-based systems, lacking effective automation solutions.
Innovation Solution
A Recovery as a Service (RaaS) system that includes a Resource Planning System (RPS), Configuration Management Database (CMDB), and Asset Reservation System (ARS), which automates the generation and execution of disaster recovery plans by programmatically generating recovery workflows and orchestrating tasks such as provisioning, configuration, and data restoration, allowing self-service management of IT infrastructure elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If manual codification of recovery processes is used for each application and data center scenario, then disaster recovery can be implemented for non-virtualized and non-cloud-based systems, but the process becomes extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated self-service disaster recovery by allowing the system to automatically generate, execute, and manage recovery workflows without requiring manual intervention for each recovery scenario. The automated recovery execution system programmatically generates workflows based on stored recovery configurations and automatically provisions resources and restores services.
Solution Approach 2:
Recovery configurations are stored in advance in a configuration management database for various applications and data center scenarios. These pre-defined configurations include all necessary recovery parameters, resource requirements, and procedural steps, enabling rapid automated execution when disasters occur without requiring manual codification at the time of recovery.
2Ease of operation
If task level automation tools are used, then human operators are freed to focus on coding overall orchestration, but a human programmer is still required to write procedures determining tasks and execution sequence
Solution Approach 1:
The automated recovery execution system performs self-service by automatically generating complete recovery workflows from stored configurations without requiring human programmers to write orchestration procedures. The system autonomously determines task sequences, resource provisioning, and recovery steps based on pre-defined recovery configurations in the database.
Solution Approach 2:
A configuration management database serves as an intermediary between recovery requirements and automated execution. The database stores structured recovery configurations that bridge the gap between high-level recovery goals and detailed execution steps, allowing the automated system to generate appropriate workflows without human intervention.
3Productivity
If point-to-point integration with Run Book Automation solutions is implemented, then automated management of large-scale infrastructure can be achieved, but coordination becomes complex involving multiple products and services
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges multiple automation functions into a unified automated recovery execution platform that handles workflow generation, resource provisioning, configuration management, and recovery execution through a single integrated system, eliminating the need for complex point-to-point integration between multiple separate automation products and services.
Data Source
AI summary
A Recovery as a Service (RaaS) system including a Configuration Management Database (CMDB), a Resource Planning System (RPS), a Recovery Execution System (RES), and an Asset Reservation System (ARS). A scope for a test or recovery is specified as one or more applications. In one implementation, the RPS can request, from the CMDB, identification of which protected resources are within the requested scope and request the ARS to only reserve assets within that scope. At time of test or disaster, the RES programmatically generates a recovery workflow and initiates its orchestration such as provisioning and/or configuring operating systems, file systems, networks, applications, and data, and executing startup processes. If there are exceptions to automated workflow, then operations personnel may perform corresponding manual operations such as through a ticketing system.