Help Avoiding Network Downtimes

Posted by on Jan 20, 2017

Never before have backups and implementing disaster recovery been so important for sustaining businesses and organizations. This need was underscored a few months ago (Oct. 21, 2016), when multiple DDoS attacks took place rendering major Internet platforms and services unavailable to large numbers of users in Europe and North America.

The attacks were viewed as the worse DDoS incidents in history, with numerous major (as well as smaller) sites affected, including those for the New York Times, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, GitHub, Etsy, Pay Pal and Verizon – just to name a few.

DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service and is a common method hackers use to disrupt online communications. Their tactic is to flood a website with so much traffic that it can’t handle visits from general web users. In one online report published by The Atlantic (“How Much Will Today’s Internet Outage Cost?”), the author noted that such incidents can cost businesses up to $20,000 per hour. Another source stated that “on average, outages of four hours cost $10,000 to $20,000, and three-day outages can cost more than $50,000.”

Such occurrences highlight just how damaging downtimes can be to a company’s (or organization’s) bottom line – not to mention its reputation.

Ways to Avoid or Shorten Unavoidable Downtimes

HBS wants to emphasize that many things can lead to a network downtime – not just DDoS attacks. In particular, power outages, human error in network management and routing issues are all possible culprits – in addition to fires, explosions and/or natural disasters.

We encourage clients to have both a backup method in place as well as a disaster recovery plan for minimizing losses due to outages. Due to costs, smaller companies, while recognizing the importance of backup, sometimes aren’t willing or able to invest in disaster recovery. However, the evolution of cloud backup and disaster recovery have made these services more affordable.

For clarity, the content below explains how doing a standard backup and disaster recovery differ and why you need both:

  • A standard backup method usually involves copying all your files to another disk. This is done in a variety of ways, such as by using a tape drive (a device that stores computer data on magnetic tape), an external hard drive, a secondary computer or a cloud-hosted backup solution.
  • Disaster recovery is similar to backup but is used for larger instances. A complete image of your disk drives and servers is created. The image allows you to restore the system quicker than reinstalling an operation system and copying files. Virtual servers with the correct disaster recovery installed can be restored within an hour, if not minutes.

If you don’t have a backup method and disaster recovery plan in place, call Hungate Business Services (HBS) at 276-243-4026 or email our help desk at info@hbsx.com. We will work with you to establish the protection you need for minimizing losses associated with network downtimes.