Water-damaged server rack back online in 5 hours — no data lost.
An office air-conditioning unit dumped water over a live server rack, taking the file server and Active Directory offline. Because the client was already backing up with Backup Experts, we used DraaS to spin up their workloads in a separate environment and reconnect the office over a site-to-site VPN.
5 hours
Back operating after rack failure
0
Files lost
2
Critical workloads recovered
Local
Immutable recovery source
The challenge
A split-system air-conditioning unit failed overnight and dumped water directly onto the office server rack. By morning the file server and Active Directory were offline, staff could not reach shared files or line-of-business applications, and the local hardware was not immediately replaceable.
The business needed to keep operating while the physical damage was assessed and new hardware was sourced.
The outcome
- File server and Active Directory spun up by DraaS within hours
- Site-to-site VPN let staff access files as if the server was local
- No data lost — recovery used immutable backups from Australian datacenters
- Some users reported the recovered environment felt faster
- Business operating again about 5 hours after the failure
How the recovery ran
- 1
Incident
The air-conditioning unit dumped water across the rack. The file server and Active Directory went offline and staff could not access shared data or applications.
- 2
Response
We engaged our DraaS workflow and began spinning up the file server and Active Directory in a separate recovery environment, restoring directly from immutable backups held in Australian datacenters.
- 3
Connectivity
A site-to-site VPN was configured between the office and the recovery environment so staff could reach files and applications securely, using their normal workflows.
- 4
Resume
Staff were back to work accessing files as normal. Some reported the environment felt faster than the old on-premises server. The business was operating again about 5 hours after the initial failure.
Want the same result in your environment?
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