Disaster Recovery Plan for Sage

Pastel Evolution

Version control
Version
no.
1.0

Date
14.04.2013

Change
Original

Sage Pastel Evolution Disaster Recovery Plan

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Sage Pastel Evolution Disaster Recovery Plan

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Preamble
The key objective of a disaster recovery plan is to detail the key activities required to
reinstate the critical ERP and related services within the agreed recovery objectives. This
plan should be used as a guide line and refined with the help of an IT specialist and
incorporated with the overall business continuity plan.
The DRP contains four main areas:
Data
Hardware
Software
Infrastructure

For the purpose of this guide, a disaster is any situation in which the day-to-day access to
data (for example, working files, software programs, or system files) is disrupted. A
disaster can also damage network components such as data, devices, hardware, media,
and software.
A disaster can be the result of any one or a combination of the following:

Computer viruses that can destroy data

Hardware and software failures
Infrastructure interruptions, inconsistencies,
communication or network connections

or

loss

of

services

such

as

The degree of loss during a disaster can range from one or more files lost when a disk
crashes to an entire computer system. The degree of severity of the disaster determines
the procedures you might need to perform to recover data on your computer.
It is important to develop a plan for recovering from different types of disasters on the
Sage Pastel Evolution Server computer. Where branch accounting is in place, the DRP
needs to be put in place for the head office as well as all branches. You need to back up
important data on the Server computer on a regular basis. You also need to develop and
test a plan for recovering your data should you experience a severe disk problem or loss of
data. The more time and effort you invest in developing and testing your backup strategy
and disaster recovery plan, the better prepared you will be in the event of a disaster.

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Contents
Planning .......................................................................................... 5
1. Data Backups ............................................................................ 5
2. Hardware ................................................................................. 6
3. Software .................................................................................. 6
4. Infrastructure............................................................................ 6
5. Disaster Recovery Documentation ................................................... 7
Testing ........................................................................................... 8
Disaster Recovery Process .................................................................... 9
Addendum ...................................................................................... 12
1. Install guides ........................................................................... 12
2. Custom exports......................................................................... 12
3. Microsoft SQL backup and restore guide ........................................... 15
Backup a database. ...................................................................... 15
Restore the database. ................................................................... 17
4. Suggested DRP documentation template .......................................... 20

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Planning
1.

Data Backups

The data is the core of the ERP system and as such, business critical.
When determining the backup intervals the following should be kept in mind:
How important is the data on your systems? The importance of data can go a long
way in helping you determine if you need to back it upas well as when and how it
should be backed up. For critical data, such as a database, you'll want to have
redundant backup sets that extend back for several backup periods. For less
important data, such as daily user files, you won't need such an elaborate backup
plan, but you'll need to back up the data regularly and ensure that the data can be
recovered easily.
How often does the data change? The frequency of change can affect your decision
on how often the data should be backed up. For example, data that changes daily
should be backed up daily.
How quickly do you need to recover the data? Time is an important factor in
creating a backup plan. For critical systems, you may need to get back online
swiftly. To do this, you may need to alter your backup plan.
Do you have the equipment to perform backups? You must have backup hardware
to perform backups. To perform timely backups, you may need several backup
devices and several sets of backup media. Backup hardware includes tape drives,
optical drives, and removable disk drives. Generally, tape drives are less expensive
but slower than other types of drives.
Who will be responsible for the backup and recovery plan? Ideally, someone should
be a primary contact for the organization's backup and recovery plan. This person
may also be responsible for performing the actual backup and recovery of data.
What is the best time to schedule backups? Scheduling backups when system use is
as low as possible will speed the backup process. However, you can't always
schedule backups for off-peak hours. So you'll need to carefully plan when key
system data is backed up.
Do you need to store backups off-site? Storing copies of backup tapes off-site is
essential to recovering your systems in the case of a natural disaster. In your offsite storage location, you should also include copies of the software you may need
to install to re-establish operational systems.
Sage Pastel recommends the following backup strategy:
Backups should be made at close of business by the trained Sage Pastel system
administrator.
Daily backups should be made of all databases to an external media device (for
instance a flash drive, CD or DVD)
Weekly backups should be made of all databases to an external media device (for
instance a flash drive, cd or DVD) to be stored off site in the case of natural
disaster.

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2.

Where possible, online backups should be used. Services like Pastel IronTree,
DropBox, and SkyDrive should be utilised to store all backups.
Copies of the Sage Pastel Evolution and Microsoft SQL install files should be stored
offsite.

Hardware

It is important to document the system specifications of the servers hosting the data. In
the event of failure, the server can be easily replicated without any inadvertent
complications.
A simple yet effective business backup solution, a cold site is simply a reserved area on a
data center where your business can set up new equipment in the event of a disaster. This
is a popular disaster recovery method because it tends to be less expensive than other
options, yet still gives a company the ability to survive a true disaster.
When your primary server machine is unavailable, you need to provide your users with
access to a substitute machine that can run the ERP software and has access to up-to-date
copies of the SQL server files and databases. In the event that both the SQL server and
application server fails, or the application and database runs on the same machine, the
SQL server will need to be recovered as well.
Make sure that the redundant server machines have the same hardware, operating
systems, and file system. Use consistent file system names and, in Windows environments,
consistent drive letters.

3.

Software

It is recommended to document the exact version of Microsoft SQL and Sage Pastel
Evolution installed on the server be documented and copies of the installation files be
stored off site.

4.

Infrastructure

It is recommended that in the event of failure, the network infrastructure be setup by a

trained network technician.

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5.

Disaster Recovery Documentation

It is important to document the following:

Location of backups.
Location of installation files.
Hardware specifications
Roles and responsibilities, along with contact details.
Infrastructure specifications:
File system configuration
Fully qualified Domain Names, IP addresses, and hostnames
For Domain Name Service (DNS) clients, maintain the DNS host's internet
address and its hostname
Hard drive configuration information
Media device names
Hardware vendor contact information and contract number
Configuration information for each piece of hardware, both active and inactive

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Testing
A disaster recovery (DR) test is the examination of each step in a disaster recovery
program, as outlined in the disaster recovery (BCDR) planning process.
A disaster need not always be a fire or a flood. It can also be an unexpected hard disk
failure or a power failure or even a hard disk failure or unexpected partition damage, or a
virus attack. Needless to say during the trial run of the plan, you would come across
several circumstances that you forgot to account for while formulating the plan. Make
careful note of all such factors and reformulate the plan with due consideration for the
new factors.
Disaster recovery testing helps ensure that an organization can recover data, restore
business critical applications and continue operations after an interruption of services.
The primary function of a DR test is to fully evaluate an organization's business continuity
and disaster recovery plans. The testing process allows an organization to conduct plan
maintenance and train staff about disaster recovery procedures.
Disaster recovery tests should be conducted on a regular basis. Communications, data
recovery and application recovery are typically a focus of all disaster recovery testing.
Sage Pastel recommends that DRP be tested at the onset of the ERP implementation and
thereafter twice yearly.

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Disaster Recovery Process

START

Have a trained
technician inspect
the server

Is the server
recoverable?

NO

Revert to secondary
server

NO

Refer to Evolution
and SQL install
guide - Install the
software

NO

Refer to restore
guide Restore the
database

NO

Send registration
details to the Sage
Evolution
registration team

NO

Contact the
network
administrator

YES
Is correct
software
installed?
YES
Is the
database
intact?
YES
Is
Evolution
registered?
YES

Can all users

access server

YES
Do you use
branch
accounting?

Go to
separate
data
integrity
check

YES
Print reports listed
and confirm
balances

Reports to compare
Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation

END

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For branch accounting, the following processes needs to be followed to ensure data
integrity:
Scenario 1 (Head office intact, branch in recovery):
Head Office
1

Branch 1

Stop all Sync Monitors

Determine last date of import

Perform custom export as per branches

3
last date of import
5

Process all missing transactions

Synchronise

Synchronise for all branches

Run reports for branch and compare:
Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
7
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
8 Process as normal

Run reports for branch and compare:

Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
Process as normal

4
6

Scenario 2 (Head office in recovery, branch intact):

Branch 1

Stop all Sync Monitors

1
2

Determine last date of import

Perform custom export as per Head
Office's last date of import

3
4

Head Office

Synchronise

5
6

Run reports for branch and compare:

Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
7
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
8 Process as normal

Process all missing transactions

Synchronise for all branches
Run reports for branch and compare:
Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
Process as normal

The branch process needs to be replicated for every branch.

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Scenario 3 (Head office and branch in recovery):

Branch 1

Process all missing transactions

2 Synchronise for all branches
Run reports for branch and compare:
Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
3
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
4 Process as normal
1

Sage Pastel Evolution Disaster Recovery Plan

Head Office

Process all missing transactions

Synchronise for all branches
Run reports for branch and compare:
Trial balance
Accounts Payable age analysis
Accounts Receivable age analysis
Inventory valuation
If errors are found, escalate to business
partner or Sage Pastel
Process as normal

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Addendum
1.

Install guides

The latest Sage Pastel Evolution and Microsoft SQL install guide can be found on the Sage
Pastel DVD on the following folder: Documentation.

2.

Custom exports

The custom exports need to be made from the same dates as from which the backups was
made. The custom exports can be made in the following manner:
To perform a custom export, Click on the custom export button in the sync monitor.

You have two options when doing a custom export.

1. Re-export Changes.
This option allows you to re-export a specific changeset-id and its underlying
dataset. You can select the change set in the window, or if the change set is not
visible, click the Show More button.

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2. Modified Data Range

This option allows you to specify changes within a specific data range. You can
override the start date, which means that Evolution will look at all changes
subsequent to that date. If you do not specify an end date, Evolution will look at
all changes after the start date. Start dates are mandatory. If you select the
earliest option, this will look at the earliest date that it can find records in the
database for Include Unmodified Records will include records where no
changeset Id is present.

Regardless of the option you choose, you can specify the output path. This path functions
the same as your Local Root path specified in your sync configuration and is only valid
for the custom export this is helpful when you are performing multiple custom exports
and you do not want to override the various files.
The moment you click OK, the custom export will start.

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Sage Pastel Evolution Disaster Recovery Plan

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3.

Microsoft SQL backup and restore guide

Backup a database.
To back up the AdventureWorks database on the BKKSQL2005 instance.
1. Connect to source server. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio and
connect to BKKSQL2005.
2. Right-click on the AdventureWorks database. Select Tasks -> Backup

3. On Back Up Database window, you can configure about backup information. If

youre not familiar these configurations, you can leave default values. Here are
some short descriptions.
1. Database - a database that you want to backup.
2. Backup type - you can select 2 options: Full and Differential. If this is the
first time you back up the database, you must select Full.
3. Name - Name of this backup, you can name anything as you want.
4. Destination - the file that will be backup to. You can leave as default.
Default
will
backup
to
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft
SQL
Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup.
5. Click OK to proceed backup.

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4. Wait for a while and youll see a pop-up message when backup is finished.

5. Browse to the destination, youll see a backup file (.bak format) which you can
copy to other server for restore in the next step. Default backup directory is
C:\Program
Files\Microsoft
SQL
Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Backup.

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Restore the database.

To restore the AdventureWorks database from a file created above to instance BK01BIZ001
which runs Microsoft SQL Server Express Edition.
1. Copy the backup file from source server to destination server. Ive copied into the
same
directory
as
source
server.

2. Connect to destination server. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

Express and connect to BK01BIZ001.
3. Right-click
on
Databases.
Select
Restore
Database

4. Restore Database window appears. On Source for restore, select From device and
click [...] buttton to browse file.

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5. On Specify Backup, ensure that Backup media is File and click Add.

6. On Locate Backup File, select the backup file. This is the backup file that was
created in Backup a database section and was copied to this server. Click OK. OK.

7. Back to Restore Database window.

1. On
Destination
for
restore,
select
AdventureWorks.
Note: If you havent added the backup file on Source before (step 4-6), you
wont see the database name on Destination.
2. On Source for restore, check the box in front of the backup name (in
Restore column).
3. Click OK.

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8. Wait

until

restore

finish

and

therell

be

pop-up

message

notify.

9. You will now see the restored database on the destination SQL Server.

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4.

Suggested DRP documentation template

The following is a suggested template to be used to record server, backup, software and
infrastructure information to be used during the disaster recovery process. It is merely a
guide and should be amended where needed.
Application Server details
Server location
Operating System
Administrator username
Administrator password
Computer name
Domain
IP address
Hard drive capacity
Processor
Installed RAM
Microsoft SQL Server details
Server location
Operating System
Administrator username
Administrator password
Computer name
Domain
IP address
Hard drive capacity
Processor
Installed RAM
Microsoft SQL version
SA username
SA password
FTP site (if applicable)
FTP site
FTP username
FTP password
Sage Pastel Evolution
Sage Pastel Evolution version
Sage Pastel Evolution administrator username
Sage Pastel Evolution administrator password
Data backup location
Onsite backup location
Offsite backup location

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Role

Roles & Responsibilities

Name

Emergency contact number

IT Technician
Network Technician
Sage Pastel System Administrator
Sage Pastel Support

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