Executive Summary : This document describes the disaster recovery plan for helpdesk operation, including helpdesk telephony system and ERP system.
1 Scope
To describe the disaster recovery plan for helpdesk operation, including helpdesk telephony system and ERP system at Shanghai and Singapore offices.
2 Contents
2.1 Disaster Recovery Service for Singapore Telephony System
There is a disaster recovery plan service, called Emergency Routing Feature for ITFS provided by SingTel Ltd to forward the Company’s existing Universal International Freephone number: 800xxxxx (Japan, S.Korea, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore), which is currently answered at 666xxxx, to another designated answering number in Singapore within 1 hour.
There is no Monthly recurring charges for Emergency Routing Feature for ITFS, and is only activation and deactivation fee. Activation and deactivation fee is: $80 during office hours (Mon-Fri: 8:30am – 6pm) or $160 after office hours, plus $20 per block of 4 ITFS #s (i.e. $20 * 2 in Company’s case).
2.1.1 Disaster Recovery Application Procedure
1) We need to fill-in the ER form as attended, and submit to SingTel for the pre-define of ER forwarding. Then, SingTel will change the answering number for our toll free from current 666xxxx to another number within 1 hour from the time we alerts SingTel to activate.
2) As we trigger the ER, it charges $80 during office hour and $160 during non-office hour. We need to add $40 as we have 7 countries of ITFS. Thus if we activate during office hour for our ITFS, the total charge is $80+$40.
3) De-activation charge is the same as activation charge. Thus if we de-activate during office hour for our ITFS, the total charge is $80+$40.
2.1.2 Disaster Recovery Setup Definition
1) The pre-define tel number for ER forwarding is +65xxxxx.
2) The authorized person to trigger the disaster plan is ICTmanager, and ICT supervisoris the backup. All callers would use the same password for calling to SingTel.
2.1.3 Trigger of Disaster Recovery Plan Procedure
2.1.3.1 When to Trigger the DRP
There are several disaster scenarios: 1) PABX system down, 2) Telephone Line down. When all incoming helpdesk call cannot reach to our Singapore office’s telephone answering number 66xxxxxx (i.e. our staff cannot receive any incoming helpdesk call), we have to contact the SingTel or PABX vendor. If SingTel or PABX vendor cannot solve the problem within 1 hours, we have to trigger to implement the disaster recovery plan.
The authorized ER caller does not need to check the telephone line frequently, which just waste his time, because the telephone line is seldom down. But, the ER caller should check from his observation or experience, or alert of any special event in Singapore. For example, as a normal trend, we would receive some calls in morning or afternoon; if we do not receive any call in the whole morning or afternoon, we should check your telephone line. Moreover, we may receive some alerts from public, end-users, colleagues or Telephone Company in case of any disaster affecting telephone line.
2.1.3.2 How to Trigger the DRP
Activate the DRP
1) contact SingTel Customer Service Office at 1800-8383555 press ‘2’ and follow by ‘3’ for activate ER service
2) An hour later, make a local call to Support Center Phone #, and check if the call is successfully forward to +65xxxxx.
3) If ER call forwarding fails, contact SingTel (1800-8383555) to fix the problem until succeed.
4) Arrange someone to call from oversee, and check if the call successfully forward to +65xxxx.
Deactivate the DRP
1) contact SingTel Customer Service Office at 1800-8383555 press ‘2’ and ‘3’ for deactivate ER service.
2) make a local call to check if the support center phone forwarding resumes normal.
2.1.3.3 Reporting of DRP Event
The ER caller has to acknowledge his management before trigger the disaster plan. In urgent case which he cannot contact his management, he can have the authority to trigger it per his own decision, but he have to report to management afterward.
2.1.4 Singapore Call Support to Malaysia/Indonesia/Vietnam/India/ New Zealand
Currently, Indonesia/Vietnam/India/New Zealand customer or staff would directly call to Singapore Office’s Support Center Telephone number +65 xxxx. Calls from these countries are on the average 30 calls per month, and each call lasts for around 10mins (as of year2006). Hence, it is not cost effective to setup the Singapore’s toll-free # xxxx for these two countries.
The call between Singapore and Malaysia is considered as a long distance call rather than international call. Hence, we setup an auto-routing function for Malaysia helpdesk call. If any customer calls to Malaysia phone # 04-6468757 will be auto diverted to Singapore at +65 66xxxx, i.e. 04-64xxxx is the helpdesk # for Malaysia.
2.2 Disaster Recovery Service for Shanghai Telephony System
2.2.1 Disaster Recovery Plan for Toll-free number
Currently, in Shanghai, we have two toll-free telephone numbers from China Telcom Ltd for customer support as: 80098xxxx(for stationary telephone set only) & 40088xxxx(for mobile phone), which is currently answered at 389xxxx, and also link to a secondary fix phone line (58683217) as disaster backup. The secondary fix phone line is separated from the office main line. Because CCC’s office line is using 30B+D digital line. The signal is communicated via fibre. If the fiber is cut, then all the office telephone lines which are under 30B+D will be down. So we must use another separated lines to linked as the equipment number. Hence, these two lines can be backup mutually. In fact, the safety of analog line in secondary phone line is much better than fibre.
As a standard service for China Telcom Ltd, the toll free number can be linked to 3 direct phone line numbers maximum, and we take 2 now. When the office telephone system is down, the toll free line will be transferred to the second phone line number automatically. The secondary line acts as a disaster recovery line for the main line.
For adding the automatic routing service, we only need to provide an application to China Telecom. The application is free. Besides, we need to pay for the setup and running cost of a separate telephone line as:
- application: 0 cost;
- running: basic cost is 35 RMB/month;
- unit rate is 0.3RMB/min.
2.2.2 Support Service for PABX System
PABX vendor provides the 7×24 hours call service, which their mobile number is released to Company staff. However, for on-site service during holiday, they may charge relevant fee according to the situation.
2.3 Disaster Recovery Plan for ERP Operation
2.3.1 Disaster Recovery Plan for ERP System
Role & Responsibility
APR-ICT Manageris the primary contact point for APR-ERP DRP matter.
APR-ERP DRP Team mainly consists two groups of people, including IT technical representative and operation representative, as below:
i) Operation Representatives from CS, Logistic & FnA
- Co-ordinator with individual user department in switching to the ‘disaster recovery’ mode orderly.
- Work with IT team to conduct simple testing on setting of the backup server.
- Co-ordinate with individual user department to capture backlog transactions and perform test if necessary.
- Work with individual user department to prepare a document to outline how the business transactions are managed on ‘disaster recovery’ mode.
ii) IT Representatives from ARP-ICT and Corporate-ICT
- Ensure hardware (server & PC) and network recovery
- Ensure operating system recovery
- Ensure recovery of the system and database
- Provide application support to the Disaster Recovery team
3. Disaster Plan ERP Hardware machine
The APR-ERP machine is using cluster technology, which two machines are running in-parallel. If a machine is down, another machine will take-up the job immediately. It should be good enough to protect the machine availability.
3.1 Disaster Plan for ERP software and data
Because we are using cluster technology, the ERP software and data are actually stored in two difference machines. It means that we have two copies of software and data. Moreover, we will backup all the data and then copy to backup tape at 11:00pm every working day. We will keep the backup tape of month-end data permanently for recording.
In case of APR-ERP system disaster, we have to get the System going-up again as soon as possible, which, we can perform the APR-ERP system restore procedure according to the description in ERP disaster recovery plan document. If all the data in the machine is totally destroy, we still can restore data from the backup tape (i.e. the worst case is losing a day’s data because we backup the system once a day).
3.2 Disaster Recovery Plan for ERP Network Connection
There is another disaster scenario that PGN network connection has problem but not the problem from APR-ERP System itself. Then, users have to use iRAS to connect to APR-ERP System through public internet connection, instead of PGN. There are several Singapore & Shanghai colleagues have iRAS setup, and they have to share their iRAS to CS for APR-ERP system operation in case of disaster. For example, William Ong has iRAS in Shanghai, Denick Murray has iRAS in Singapore.