Disaster recovery cloud resources available to Albertans

Businesses or individuals who are affected by the fires in and around Fort McMurray are invited to use Albertaโ€™s Rapid Access Cloud to temporarily store a backup of their servers, or get their websites, email hosting or other services back up and running. Available through Cybera, Albertaโ€™s not-for-profit technology accelerator, this free disaster recovery service has been created to support those who have recently been affected by wildfire in the provinceโ€™s north.

Businesses that have a backup of their data can restore it on Cybera’s cloud infrastructure for up to 90 days. They may also use the cloud computing resources in other ways to support their operationsโ€™ recovery.

Cybera is funded by the Government of Alberta and operates the province’s Research and Education Network โ€” the fastest network in Alberta. This means data being stored through an online backup service such as Carbonite or Backblaze can be accessed and restored very quickly.

How it works

The Rapid Access Cloud can be used to instantly provision virtual machines โ€” servers that are “virtual” rather than exist as a physical, metal, rack-mounted server, or a computer that sits on a desk. These virtual machines can be used to run a web server to host websites, mail servers to receive email, or even remote desktops.

The Rapid Access Cloud also offers a storage service which can be used to warehouse large amounts of files or documents.

While creating the virtual machines is fast, some knowledge of server administration is necessary to actually make the virtual machine. Business owners are encouraged to discuss this solution with their IT support team.

Getting started

To access the Rapid Access Cloud, login to Cyberaโ€™s portal to create an account. Once an account has been created, users can immediately begin using the computing and storage resources. Cybera provides several guides on how to get started here, as well as a three-minute video on getting set up.

For more information on how this cloud infrastructure can support disaster-hit businesses in Alberta, please contact Cybera’s cloud development team at disaster-recovery@cybera.ca.

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