# Disaster Recovery Blueprints

> Multi-region DR patterns with automated failover, backup strategies, and RTO/RPO targets

- Skill: `nicolasmosquerar/disaster-recovery-blueprints` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add nicolasmosquerar/disaster-recovery-blueprints`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/nicolasmosquerar/disaster-recovery-blueprints/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- Author: nicolasmosquerar (https://skillmd.com/u/nicolasmosquerar)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/nicolasmosquerar/disaster-recovery-blueprints

---


# Disaster Recovery Blueprints

## Overview

Disaster Recovery (DR) ensures business continuity when primary resources fail. This skill covers multi-region architectures, backup strategies, and automated failover patterns.

```mermaid
graph TB
    subgraph "Primary Region (us-east-1)"
        ALB1[ALB]
        EKS1[EKS Cluster]
        RDS1[(RDS Primary)]
        S3_1[S3 Bucket]
    end
    
    subgraph "DR Region (us-west-2)"
        ALB2[ALB - Standby]
        EKS2[EKS Cluster - Standby]
        RDS2[(RDS Read Replica)]
        S3_2[S3 Replica]
    end
    
    Route53[Route 53<br/>Health Checks] --> ALB1
    Route53 -.->|Failover| ALB2
    RDS1 -->|Async Replication| RDS2
    S3_1 -->|Cross-Region Replication| S3_2
```

## DR Strategies

| Strategy | RTO | RPO | Cost | Use Case |
|----------|-----|-----|------|----------|
| **Backup & Restore** | Hours | Hours | $ | Non-critical workloads |
| **Pilot Light** | 10-30 min | Minutes | $$ | Core systems |
| **Warm Standby** | Minutes | Seconds | $$$ | Important workloads |
| **Active-Active** | Zero | Zero | $$$$ | Mission-critical |

## Best Practices

1. **Define RTO/RPO first** - Drive architecture decisions
2. **Automate failover** - Manual steps increase RTO
3. **Test regularly** - Quarterly DR drills
4. **Document runbooks** - Clear failover procedures
5. **Monitor replication lag** - Alert on RPO violations
6. **Use Route 53 health checks** - Automatic DNS failover
7. **Version infrastructure** - Same IaC deploys to both regions

---

## Example 1: Terraform - Multi-Region RDS with Failover

Complete DR setup with RDS read replica and Route 53 failover.

📁 **Location**: [terraform/examples/disaster-recovery/](file:///home/nmosquerar/skills-repo/terraform/examples/disaster-recovery/)

### Key Features

```hcl
# Primary RDS instance
resource "aws_db_instance" "primary" {
  provider               = aws.primary
  identifier             = "${local.name_prefix}-primary"
  engine                 = "postgres"
  backup_retention_period = 7
  multi_az               = true  # HA within region
}

# Cross-region read replica (can be promoted)
resource "aws_db_instance" "replica" {
  provider             = aws.dr
  identifier           = "${local.name_prefix}-replica"
  replicate_source_db  = aws_db_instance.primary.arn
  
  # Ready to promote on failover
  backup_retention_period = 7
}

# Route 53 health check for automatic failover
resource "aws_route53_health_check" "primary" {
  fqdn              = aws_lb.primary.dns_name
  type              = "HTTPS"
  port              = 443
  failure_threshold = 3
}
```

---

## Example 2: CDK - S3 Cross-Region Replication + Route 53

Multi-region storage with automatic replication.

📁 **Location**: [cdk/examples/disaster-recovery/](file:///home/nmosquerar/skills-repo/cdk/examples/disaster-recovery/)

### Key Features

```typescript
// Primary bucket with replication
const primaryBucket = new s3.Bucket(this, 'PrimaryBucket', {
  bucketName: `${props.projectName}-primary-${this.account}`,
  versioned: true,  // Required for replication
  encryption: s3.BucketEncryption.S3_MANAGED,
});

// DR bucket in another region
const drBucket = new s3.Bucket(drStack, 'DrBucket', {
  bucketName: `${props.projectName}-dr-${drStack.account}`,
  versioned: true,
});

// Cross-region replication rule
primaryBucket.addReplicationRule({
  destination: drBucket,
  replicateEncryptedObjects: true,
});

// Route 53 failover routing
const healthCheck = new route53.HealthCheck(this, 'HealthCheck', {
  type: route53.HealthCheckType.HTTPS,
  fqdn: primaryAlb.loadBalancerDnsName,
});

new route53.ARecord(this, 'FailoverRecord', {
  zone: hostedZone,
  recordName: 'app',
  target: route53.RecordTarget.fromAlias(
    new route53targets.LoadBalancerTarget(primaryAlb)
  ),
  setIdentifier: 'primary',
  healthCheck: healthCheck,
});
```

---

## RTO/RPO Quick Reference

| Component | Backup Frequency | Replication | RTO Target |
|-----------|-----------------|-------------|------------|
| RDS | Daily snapshots | Cross-region replica | 15 min |
| S3 | Versioned | CRR (async) | 5 min |
| EKS | Config in Git | Multi-region | 30 min |
| Secrets | N/A | Replicated | 5 min |

---

## Validation Checklist

- [ ] RTO/RPO targets defined and documented
- [ ] Cross-region replication enabled for data stores
- [ ] Route 53 health checks configured
- [ ] Failover runbook documented
- [ ] DR drills scheduled quarterly
- [ ] Replication lag monitoring and alerts
- [ ] Same IaC code deploys to both regions

## Related Skills

- [Network Segmentation](../network-segmentation/SKILL.md) - Multi-region VPC
- [Remote State Boundaries](../remote-state-boundaries/SKILL.md) - Regional state
- [Blue/Green Canary](../blue-green-canary/SKILL.md) - Safe deployments