It's hurricane season on the East Coast of the US right now, and after Hurricane Irene, I'm sure there are more than a few IT workers that are worried about their disaster recovery (DR) plans. Irene didn't cause much damage, but it was a reminder that there are situations which are completely out of our control, but could easily end up causing us problems with our infrastructure.

SQL Server gives us numerous ways to prepare for disasters with different technologies like database mirroring, log shipping and more. The new Always On features in Denali will give us even more options, and may be worth the cost of an upgrade. While DBAs seem to regularly practice backups and restores, recovering a full application often requires more than a SQL Server restore. This Friday, I wanted to ask how often you practice your recovery.

Read the rest of "The DR Test Schedule" at SQLServerCentral.