#47SAFETYPROTECTElite
Restore Drills
Scheduled recovery testing
Hard
Overview
Scheduled, end-to-end recovery drills that restore from backup and verify functionality.
Why It Matters
Monthly drills prove your RPO/RTO claims. Practice before you need it.
The Risk
Without drills, first real recovery attempt is during crisis. Process gaps cause delays. Team members don't know procedures. Recovery time is 10x longer than expected.
Implementation Components
A complete implementation of this capability includes:
- Monthly scheduled recovery drills
- Full end-to-end process (restore DB, files, start app)
- Smoke tests to verify functionality
- Timed to validate RTO claims
- Documented runbooks improved after each drill
- Multiple team members participate - avoid single point of failure
Implementation Pattern
- 1Schedule monthly drills
- 2Restore database and files
- 3Start application
- 4Run smoke tests
Pipeline Coverage
This continuous capability monitors and applies to the following pipeline phases:
RELEASE
Tool Examples
These are examples, not endorsements. Choose what fits your context.
Dependencies
Requires (must have first)
Same Layer
Other capabilities in this continuous layer
- •#44 Database Backups
- •#45 System/App Backups
- •#46 Restore Verification
- •#48 Host Hardening
- •#49 Config Drift Detection
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