What Is Disaster Recovery for a CMS?
AdvancedQuick Answer
TL;DR
Disaster recovery (DR) for a CMS is a documented plan and set of procedures for restoring your content management system after a catastrophic failure — server crash, data corruption, security breach, or natural disaster. A DR plan defines your Recovery Time Objective (RTO: how quickly you need to be back online) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO: how much data loss is acceptable), and includes backup strategies, failover procedures, and regular testing.
Key Takeaways
- RTO (Recovery Time Objective) defines the maximum acceptable downtime; RPO (Recovery Point Objective) defines the maximum acceptable data loss
- A DR plan requires regular, tested backups stored in geographically separate locations
- Document step-by-step recovery procedures so any team member can execute them under pressure
- Test the DR plan at least annually with simulated failure scenarios — untested plans fail when needed most