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Reliability

Disaster Recovery​

Overview​

Disaster recovery is a critical component of our hosting strategy, ensuring the resilience and continuity of operations in the face of unforeseen events. Our disaster recovery plan encompasses various AWS services and best practices to mitigate the impact of disasters, minimize downtime, and maintain data integrity.

Backup Strategy​

We employ a multi-tiered backup strategy leveraging Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) for secure and durable storage of backup data. Regular automated backups are scheduled to capture incremental changes, ensuring minimal data loss in the event of a disaster. Additionally, Amazon Glacier is utilized for long-term archival of historical data, providing cost-effective storage while meeting compliance requirements.

Failover Protocols​

To ensure seamless failover in the event of a disaster, we utilize AWS Route 53 for DNS failover. Route 53 continuously monitors the health of our primary infrastructure and automatically redirects traffic to healthy secondary regions or availability zones in the event of an outage. This enables us to maintain high availability and minimize service disruption for end-users.

Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO)​

Our disaster recovery plan defines specific RTO and RPO targets tailored to the criticality of different systems and data. RTO represents the maximum acceptable downtime for restoring services, while RPO indicates the acceptable data loss in case of a disaster. By aligning our recovery objectives with business requirements, we ensure swift recovery and minimal impact on operations.

Testing and Validation​

Regular testing and validation of our disaster recovery plan are conducted to ensure its effectiveness and readiness. This includes simulated disaster scenarios, failover drills, and recovery exercises to identify any gaps or weaknesses in the plan. Lessons learned from these exercises are incorporated into our continuous improvement process to enhance the resilience of our infrastructure further.

Monitoring and Alerting​

Overview​

Monitoring and alerting are fundamental to maintaining the health, performance, and security of our hosting environment. We leverage a comprehensive set of AWS services and third-party tools to continuously monitor key metrics, detect anomalies, and proactively address potential issues before they impact operations.

Monitoring Tools and Metrics​

We utilize Amazon CloudWatch as our primary monitoring tool, collecting and analyzing metrics from various AWS services, including EC2 instances, RDS databases, and Lambda functions. Key performance indicators such as CPU utilization, memory usage, disk I/O, and network traffic are monitored in real-time, providing insights into the health and performance of our infrastructure.

Alerting Mechanisms​

CloudWatch alarms are configured to trigger alerts based on predefined thresholds and anomalies detected in the monitored metrics. These alarms can notify designated personnel via email, SMS, or integration with third-party incident management systems. Additionally, AWS Simple Notification Service (SNS) is used for centralized alerting and escalation, ensuring timely response and resolution of critical issues.

Proactive Measures​

In addition to reactive alerting, we implement proactive measures to optimize system performance and prevent potential issues. This includes auto-scaling policies to dynamically adjust resource capacity based on demand, automated remediation workflows using AWS Lambda functions, and continuous optimization of infrastructure configurations based on monitoring data and best practices.

Compliance and Reporting​

CloudWatch logs are centrally collected and analyzed for compliance monitoring and audit purposes. Custom dashboards and reports are generated to provide stakeholders with visibility into the operational status, performance trends, and compliance posture of our hosting environment. This enables us to demonstrate adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies.

Support Ticketing​

Overview​

Ticketing is an integral part of our incident management and resolution process, providing a structured framework for reporting, tracking, and resolving issues related to our hosting environment and custom software project. Our ticketing system ensures transparency, accountability, and timely resolution of incidents to minimize disruption and optimize user experience.

Ticketing System​

We utilize FreeScout, a robust and customizable ticketing platform, to manage incidents, service requests, and inquiries from users and stakeholders. FreeScout offers a user-friendly interface, workflow automation capabilities, and integration with communication channels, enabling efficient collaboration and resolution of tickets.

Incident Reporting​

Users can report incidents and service requests through various channels, including email, web portal, and API integrations. Upon submission, tickets are automatically categorized, prioritized, and assigned to appropriate teams based on predefined rules and escalation procedures.

Ticket Resolution Workflows​

Upon ticket assignment, designated personnel follow standardized workflows to investigate, diagnose, and resolve reported incidents. Communication with stakeholders is facilitated through the ticketing system, providing updates, status notifications, and resolution details in real-time.

SLAs (Service Level Agreements)​

We adhere to predefined SLAs to ensure timely response and resolution of tickets based on their severity and impact on operations. SLAs define target response times, resolution targets, and escalation procedures for different types of incidents, aligning with business requirements and user expectations.

Integration and Automation​

Our ticketing system is integrated with other monitoring and alerting tools, enabling automated ticket generation for detected anomalies and critical events. Additionally, workflow automation features are utilized to streamline repetitive tasks, reduce manual intervention, and accelerate incident resolution.

Compliance and Audit Trails​

Ticketing activities, including ticket creation, updates, and resolution, are logged and audited for compliance monitoring and reporting purposes. Audit trails provide visibility into the incident management process, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies.