Assignment: Disaster Recovery and High Availability

In this assignment, you will have the opportunity to create a diagram of a virtual server environment. The diagram will include all the required components and the way the system will operate. In addition, you will provide a written explanation of how the virtualization system works by providing an overview of your diagram.

Scenario:

Thanks to the excellent job you have done in explaining the benefits of virtualization technology and virtual networking to your boss at Wonder Widgets Inc., you are now in the midst of implementing the organization's virtualized technology infrastructure. You are working with a knowledgeable consulting firm, and the project is progressing smoothly.

Monday morning, you walk into work, and before you can sit in your chair, your boss appears in your office doorway with a panicked look on his face.

You asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well, I've been thinking about the virtualization project," he says. "I don't understand how we'll survive if one of the host computers crashes. Won't we lose all of the virtual machines on that host? It will take weeks to rebuild the host and all of those virtual machines, won't it?"

It looks like your boss needs a refresher on the disaster recovery and high-availability features inherent in a virtual server environment.

Tasks:

For this assignment, you will create two deliverables:

• A diagram of a virtual server environment highlighting the high-availability aspects of an N+1 cluster.
• An executive report explaining how the N+1 configuration will work in the case of a failure of one of the hosts.

Part I: Virtual Infrastructure Diagram

Using Microsoft Visio:

• Illustrate an N+1 cluster configuration.
• Specifically highlight the high-availability features of N+1 cluster configuration in your diagram.

Part II: Executive Report

Using Microsoft Word, create a 2- to 3-page report explaining:

• The virtual infrastructure diagram in plain English (i.e., in terms that can be easily understood by a nontechnical audience).
• The high-availability features found in virtualization packages.
• Examples of how the features work in the event of the loss of a host computer.

Write in a clear, concise, and organized manner; demonstrate ethical scholarship in accurate representation and attribution of sources (i.e., APA); and display accurate spelling, grammar, and punctuation.