Hosted Service

1. Plan Overview

   This plan details the phases (Preparation, Implementation, and Execution) required for the disaster recovery of Hosted TariffShark servers running in the Primary Data Center and the steps that will be taken to meet the DR requirements.

   The DR requirements are straightforward: (1) Maintain secure offsite records of all data. (2) Restore normal TariffShark server operations in the event of a significant business disruption (SBD).

   The mission critical components covered by this plan include all Hosted TariffShark servers and all TariffShark data.

2. Preparation Phase

   The preparation phase includes steps required to create and maintain the offsite DR network.

   1. Creation of virtual machine clones of the mission critical servers and databases.

      All hosted TariffShark servers are virtualized in the Primary Data Center using AWS technology. Replicas of these machines will be created and stored in the Secondary Data Center.

   2. Backups of machine images.

      Backups of machine images of critical servers are performed nightly in the Primary Data Center. The backups operations are monitored for successful completion and the backups themselves are stored securely in the Secondary Data Center.

   3. Backups of critical data.

      Backups of critical data are performed nightly and throughout each business day in the Primary Data Center. The backups operations are monitored for successful completion and the backed up data is stored securely on Amazon S3.

   4. Maintenance of lists of critical tasks and contacts required for implementation and execution of the disaster recovery plan.

      Links Technology maintains a detailed list of tasks required for starting and enabling the DR network and a list of critical contacts for all customers whose TariffShark servers are hosted in the Primary Data Center.

   5. Allocation of infrastructure at Secondary Data Center to support the DR network.

      Links Technology provides an alternate infrastructure at the Secondary Data Center to support TariffShark's mission critical servers and provide connectivity to all of its customers and users.

   6. Maintenance and testing of DR network.

      The hardware and software components that comprise the TariffShark DR network at the Secondary Data Center is started and tested semi-annually to ensure proper operation. Scheduled maintenance of the TariffShark servers includes restoring test data and testing connectivity and performance.

3. Implementation Phase

   The implementation phase details the steps required to deploy the DR network components. These steps would be taken in response to a SBD to activate the DR plan.

   1. Restore, start, and test all DR network components

      The server VMs on the DR network at the Secondary Data Center will be updated with current machine image backups, brought online, and tested for proper operation. The TariffShark database and web services will be started and tested for proper operation.

   2. Download and restore current data

      Backup data from the most recent backups will be restored to the TariffShark servers.

   3. Restore connectivity

      DNS changes will be made to enable connectivity to the TariffShark servers at the Secondary Data Center.

4. Execution Phase

   The execution phase details the steps that will be followed when the DR Network is operating in a production mode.

   1. Step 1: Monitor all devices and confirm network operation and usability of applications.

      Three areas of DR network operations will be monitored to ensure all requirements are being met. These areas are connectivity, application services, and resources.

      • Connectivity: Links Technology will check the DR router, DNS resolution, virtual server connections to the local network and Internet, and incoming connections of customers' users to the DR network for proper operation.

      • Application Services: Links Technology will confirm that all TariffShark servers are operational and available to the DR network users.

      • Resources: Links technology will monitor resource usage of all host servers and routers to ensure that performance levels are maintained.

   2. Step 2: Respond to issues and adjust DR network accordingly.

      Links Technology staff will respond to issues reported by users of the DR network and will resolve these issues as quickly as possible. Adjustments to the services provided by the DR network will be made as needed to allow for the optimal performance.

   3. Step 3: Determine the scope of the SBD event and proceed to recovery and resumption steps as required.

      The impact of the SBD event on the hosted infrastructure and resources at the Primary Data Center will be evaluated by Links Technology personnel. Recovery and resumption steps will be determined based on the evaluation findings. The DR network will remain in operation as required until the TariffShark servers are able to return to their normal operation at the Primary Data Center.

5. Definitions:

   DR	Disaster Recovery
   Primary Data Center	Provided by Amazon Web Services (in northern Virginia)
   SBD	Significant Business Disruption
   Secondary Data Center	Links Technology's Data Center located in Colorado

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