Auditing Disaster Recovery Management - Auditing Information Systems: Enhancing Performance of the Enterprise - page 128

is to get users to connect to the hot site and continue operations with minimum disruption.
A hot site is basically a duplicate site of the original main site.
In most hot site environments, there are network connections which enable replication of
data between the main data centre and the hot site. This allows the hot site to have the same
data as the main site. There is also the requirement to maintain the same level of configur-
ation of operating systems and application software. For example, the patches applied on
the servers at the main site and hot site should be the same. This consistency will ensure
that there is no software difference between the two sites.
The benefits of hot sites are that all systems are ready to be used when there is an incident.
All users need to do is to connect or move to the hot site facility to continue work with
minimum disruption. The time of recovery is short as systems are already in place. It is also
expected that users would have received the necessary training and drills to work at the hot
site.
The disadvantages of hot sites are that they are very expensive both in terms of keeping
spare hardware, extra software licenses, maintenance costs, and replacement of absolute
hardware if the equipment was not purchased using leasing. It is also expected that the en-
terprise would have to keep all equipment, software, and data up to date all the time so that
there is no conflict of systems when a disaster is declared.
The IS auditor is required to review readiness of the site and that all the required equipment
is available and users have been trained to operate from the hot site and do regularly re-
hearse working from the site. It is common to find users failing to find equipment at the hot
site such as printers, scanners, or a standard office workstation environment.
Warm sites - These are sites which have hardware equipment such as servers and work-
stations installed and ready to be used. They also have network equipment and connectivity
installed and ready for use. The warm site may not have current data as in a hot site. They
might have backups such as disks or tapes which are a day or more old. The enterprise
would have to enter into contracts with suppliers so that they are able to provide missing
equipment at a short notice, but of course, this is at an additional fee compared to purchas-
ing expensive equipment and software outright.
The benefits of warm sites are that it is cheaper to setup compared to the hot site as it does
not have all the required equipment like that found in a hot site or main data centre. The
warm site would have environmental control equipment in place such as air conditioners,
fire suppression equipment, and power surge control equipment.
The disadvantage of warm sites is the time it takes to set up and move operations to the
warm site. The enterprise would be required to install application software and transfer data
before commencing business operations. The enterprise might also be required to install