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A hot site is a duplicate of the original site of the organization, with full computer systems as well as near-complete backups of user data. Real time synchronization between the two sites may be used to completely mirror the data environment of the original site using wide area network links and specialized software. Following a disruption to the original site, the hot site exists so that the organization can relocate with minimal losses to normal operations in the shortest recovery time. Ideally, a hot site will be up and running within a matter of hours. Personnel may have to be moved to the hot site, but it is possible that the hot site may be operational from a data processing perspective before staff has relocated. The capacity of the hot site may or may not match the capacity of the original site depending on the organization's requirements. This type of backup site is the most expensive to operate. Hot sites are popular with organizations that operate real time processes such as financial institutions, government agencies and eCommerce providers. The most important feature offered from a hot site is that the production environment(s) is running concurrently with the main datacenter. This syncing allows for minimal impact and downtime to business operations. In the event of a significant outage event, the hot site can take the place of the impacted site immediately. However, this level of redundancy does not come cheap, and businesses will have to weigh the cost-benefit-analysis (CBA) of hot site utilization.
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