Confidence comes from climbing the testing ladder.

Each level proves something different, from people knowing the plan to the platform surviving real controlled failover.

Tabletop

Validate roles, decision points, and missing knowledge.

Component restore

Restore one DB, PVC, or object set in isolation.

DR environment test

Build the recovery environment end to end.

Full failover drill

Move real service operation to the DR path.

What to measure every time: actual RTO, actual RPO, restore success rate, and operator friction.

What to fix after every test: stale commands, hidden dependencies, missing access, and unclear authority.