Building a Resilient Disaster Recovery Site on AWS for EDECS

Industry: Engineering & Construction Services Region: AWS Europe (Ireland) AWS Services Used: Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, AWS Directory Service, AWS DataSync, Amazon VPC, AWS Site-to-Site VPN, Amazon CloudWatch

Executive Summary

EDECS partnered with VArrow Technologies to design, build, and validate a Disaster Recovery (DR) site on AWS, safeguarding critical file storage and identity infrastructure against the risk of a site-wide outage. Using Amazon FSx for Windows File Server, AWS DataSync, and AWS Directory Service, VArrow built a resilient, multi-Availability Zone environment that replicates EDECS’s on-premises file share to AWS and enables rapid, seamless failover — with authentication continuity built in from day one. The solution is live in production today, with automated health checks and alerting keeping the DR site continuously ready.

About the Customer

EDECS runs critical business operations that depend on reliable, always-available file storage and identity services. Like many organizations with a single physical data center, EDECS faced a common but serious risk: no automated way to recover if that data center ever went down.

The Challenge

EDECS’s file storage and Active Directory infrastructure ran solely on-premises, with no tested path to recovery in the event of a disaster. Without a validated DR capability, any hardware failure, environmental event, or other disruption at the primary site risked extended downtime and potential data loss for operations that depend on continuous file access and user authentication.

EDECS needed a DR solution that could: – Replicate critical file data to the cloud continuously, with minimal data loss – Preserve seamless user authentication during a failover — not just recover files, but recover access to them – Fail over quickly enough to avoid meaningful business disruption – Be built on infrastructure that’s compatible with EDECS’s existing Windows-based file server environment, with no application-level rework – Remain scalable as EDECS’s business needs evolve

The Solution

VArrow designed and implemented a Disaster Recovery architecture on AWS, targeting the AWS Europe (Ireland) Region.

Key architectural elements:

• Amazon FSx for Windows File Server as the DR target — chosen specifically for its native SMB compatibility with EDECS’s on-premises Windows file server environment, meaning no file-format conversion or application-level changes were needed to make failover work.
• AWS DataSync for continuous, secure replication of file data from EDECS’s on-premises file share directly into FSx, keeping the DR copy current without manual intervention.
• AWS Directory Service, integrated with EDECS’s existing on-premises Active Directory, so that authentication continues working seamlessly for users and applications even after a failover — a detail that’s easy to overlook in DR planning but critical to actually restoring business operations quickly.
• A dedicated, multi-Availability Zone VPC with public, private, and internal subnet tiers, isolating DR infrastructure appropriately and providing a foundation that can scale as needs grow.
• AWS Site-to-Site VPN for secure, private connectivity between EDECS’s data center and AWS — no data ever traverses the public internet.
• Amazon CloudWatch health checks and alerting, giving EDECS’s team ongoing visibility into replication status, so the DR site stays provably ready rather than being a “set it and forget it” deployment.
• Infrastructure as Code via Terraform, ensuring the environment is repeatable, auditable, and easy to extend.

Validating the Solution

Before handover, VArrow ran a structured Testing and Validation phase, confirming: – Successful, ongoing data replication between the on-premises file share and Amazon FSx – Authentication working correctly against the AWS-based Directory Service integration – Failover performance meeting the solution’s design targets – Security groups and network configuration functioning as intended across both Availability Zones

The DR site is live in production today, with automated health checks continuously confirming replication and connectivity remain healthy.

Results

• A production-live DR site for EDECS’s critical file storage and identity infrastructure, replicated continuously to AWS
• Seamless authentication continuity — not just file recovery, but full access continuity via AWS Directory Service integration with EDECS’s existing Active Directory
• No application-level rework required, thanks to FSx’s native compatibility with EDECS’s existing Windows file server environment
• Ongoing operational assurance through automated CloudWatch health checks and alerting, rather than a one-time deployment left unmonitored
• A cost-optimized design, sized to EDECS’s actual capacity and throughput needs rather than over-provisioned defaults

Why It Matters

For EDECS, this project turned an unaddressed single point of failure into a tested, production-ready recovery capability. By pairing Amazon FSx’s native Windows file server compatibility with AWS Directory Service for identity continuity, VArrow delivered a DR solution that recovers not just data, but the full user experience of accessing it — backed by ongoing monitoring that keeps EDECS confident the site will be ready if it’s ever needed.

VArrow Technologies is an AWS Partner specializing in cloud migration, disaster recovery, and managed services. To learn how VArrow can help design and validate your organization’s disaster recovery strategy on AWS, contact us.