Using Preventive Practices for Servers

The server where a CA is installed can fail, resulting in a disruption of certificate services. You can use the following preventive practices to reduce the risk of CA failures and to minimize the disruption of CA services:

• Provide duplicate CA services so that if one server is offline, another server can still issue the appropriate certificates.
• Back up CAs frequently so that they can be restored with a minimal loss of data.
• Install certificate services on hard disks by using disk arrays and redundant array of independent disks (RAID) Level 5 protection.
• Prepare recovery plans and train administrative staff on recovery plans.
• Maintain records of all server and CA configuration information so that exact configurations can be easily restored.
• Maintain replacement servers in standby or in ready stores for immediate recovery.

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