MyEd Disaster Recovery Test Completed in Just One Day

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In March this year teams from across Information Services worked together to deliver a Disaster Recovery test, to determine how quickly the back-up version of the MyEd Portal Service could be restored following a disaster. 

MyEd is a crucial service used by thousands of students and staff every day and also provides a gateway to other vital University services including the Student Record, Learn VLE and P&M.

Teams from Production Management, Development Services, ITI and the Portal Services in LTW worked together to simulate a fire, flood or similar scenario at Kings Buildings which had “knocked out” the MyEd service.

As part of the test they confirmed how the service “failed over” to the back-up version and the work needed to restore the service to its full capabilities – also checking that data saved on MyEd was successfully recovered.   

A disaster recovery test on a major service like MyEd is a hard thing to complete successfully. There are a lot of technology components and we were working to a tight deadline. It needs a lot of effective communication. The team did a brilliant job! I was delighted with the outcome.

Richard Bailey

The project team had been given a three-day window for the Disaster Recovery test to be carried out which simulated the pressure a recovery team would be under in the event of a real-life disaster.  The test used a ring-fenced environment which meant the live MyEd service was never affected. The team rose to the challenge brilliantly collaborating really well on the day to complete the Disaster Recovery test within a 24-hour window.  The team also identified several new guidelines to follow in future Disaster Recovery events, updating the technical documentation and storing instructions in a central repository. 

I am very pleased to see a test carried out with a priority service. Many thanks to all involved for their efforts, this will give ourselves in Production Management and business partners added confidence to address issues in a disaster situation." 

Suran Perera