Manage configuration drift at the DR site or Region

Configuration drift can lead to inconsistencies and may hinder recovery efforts during a disaster event. Regularly managing and checking configurations ensures that your DR environment mirrors production environments, thereby supporting smoother, faster recovery processes.

Best Practices

Regularly Test and Validate Disaster Recovery Configurations

• Schedule regular DR drills to test the entire recovery process, ensuring all components are functional.
• Validate that AMIs, snapshots, and configuration files are current and correctly represent the production environment.
• Utilize automation tools to deploy and configure the DR environment consistently and accurately.
• Document the DR procedure and configuration changes to maintain clear records for compliance and audits.
• Monitor the DR site for configuration drift using tools like AWS Config or third-party solutions to ensure alignment with production standards.

Maintain Up-to-Date Infrastructure Documentation

• Create and maintain comprehensive documentation of the entire infrastructure setup, including any dependencies.
• Regularly review and update the documentation whenever changes occur in the production environment.
• Use version control for documentation to track changes over time and ensure the DR site reflects the most recent configurations.
• Ensure team members are trained on the documentation and DR procedures so they can respond effectively in a disaster scenario.

Implement Automated Configuration Management

• Utilize infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like AWS CloudFormation or Terraform to define and manage the configuration of your DR environment.
• Automate the configuration of backup resources to match the production setup exactly, preventing unexpected errors during recovery.
• Setup CI/CD pipelines to incorporate configuration management updates into your development workflow, minimizing drift.
• Regularly scan and remediate any disparities between production and DR configurations to maintain compliance.

Questions to ask your team

• How often do you review and update the configuration of your DR site?
• What processes are in place to detect and resolve configuration drift at the DR site?
• Have you implemented automated tools to manage configuration consistency between your primary and DR sites?
• How do you ensure that the required AMIs and service quotas are prepped and ready at the DR site?
• What documentation exists to guide the maintenance of configuration at the DR site?
• How do you validate that the DR setup meets your RTO and RPO objectives during regular drills?

Who should be doing this?

Cloud Operations Manager

• Oversee the configuration management process at the DR site or Region.
• Ensure regular audits of infrastructure and data to prevent configuration drift.
• Establish protocols for updating AMIs and service quotas as needed.
• Coordinate with the IT team to implement and monitor changes to the DR environment.

DevOps Engineer

• Automate the deployment processes to keep DR site configuration in sync with production.
• Develop scripts to regularly check for configuration discrepancies at the DR site.
• Implement continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices to manage updates to infrastructure.
• Collaborate with the Cloud Operations Manager for alignment on DR strategy.

Data Backup Specialist

• Manage regular backups of data to ensure it is current and ready for recovery.
• Coordinate with the Cloud Operations Manager to align backup processes with RPO objectives.
• Monitor backup restoration processes to ensure data integrity and availability at the DR site.
• Document and report on backup and recovery processes to stakeholders.

Network Engineer

• Ensure network configurations are consistent between the primary and DR sites.
• Set up communication pathways necessary for the DR site to function effectively.
• Perform regular testing of network components to confirm their reliability in a disaster scenario.
• Collaborate with other roles to ensure that infrastructure is resilient and responsive.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Disaster Recovery Configuration Management Plan: A detailed document outlining the strategies and procedures for maintaining configuration accuracy at the DR site, including regular updates and verification processes for AMIs and service quotas.
• Configuration Drift Monitoring Dashboard: An interactive dashboard that provides real-time visibility into the state of infrastructure, data, and configurations at the DR site, flagging any discrepancies from the production environment.
• DR Configuration Checklist: A checklist to ensure all necessary configurations, AMIs, and quota settings are validated before a DR test or actual invocation, helping mitigate risk of configuration drift.
• Disaster Recovery Strategy Playbook: A comprehensive playbook that outlines the disaster recovery strategies and procedures, including steps to manage configuration drift and ensure consistency between primary and DR sites.
• Configuration Management Policy: An organizational policy that establishes the frameworks and responsibilities for managing configurations in both production and DR environments to minimize drift.

Cloud Services

AWS

• AWS Config: AWS Config provides a detailed view of the configuration of AWS resources in your account. It allows you to assess, audit, and evaluate the configurations, helping to manage drift at the DR site.
• AWS CloudFormation: AWS CloudFormation helps automate the deployment of application resources and ensures that your infrastructure is deployed consistently, reducing configuration drift by versioning your infrastructure as code.
• AWS Systems Manager: AWS Systems Manager provides visibility and control of your infrastructure, allowing you to automate operational tasks and manage configurations at both primary and DR sites effectively.

Azure

• Azure Resource Manager: Azure Resource Manager allows you to deploy and manage resources using a template, helping to ensure consistent configurations and reducing drift across different regions including DR sites.
• Azure Policy: Azure Policy helps to enforce organizational standards and assess compliance at scale, ensuring that configurations remain consistent and as expected in your disaster recovery environments.
• Azure Automation: Azure Automation provides the ability to automate the deployment, monitoring, and maintenance of resources in Azure, allowing you to maintain configuration consistency across all environments.

Google Cloud Platform

• Google Cloud Deployment Manager: Google Cloud Deployment Manager allows you to create, configure, and deploy resources to Google Cloud, keeping infrastructure consistent through templated configurations.
• Google Cloud Operations Suite (formerly Stackdriver): Cloud Operations Suite provides monitoring, logging, and diagnostics capabilities to ensure your resources are configured correctly and operate as intended, which is crucial for DR preparedness.
• Config Connector: Config Connector allows you to manage GCP resources using Kubernetes, helping enforce consistent configurations across environments, including DR setups.