» Redundant solutions: Failover server

One of the most important features in creating a video security setup you can rely on, is ensuring redundancy for when there is a system failure. System failure is not an option when your safety depends on it. A failover server, or hot-standby server, can be a solution to prevent loss of video data and to ensure redundancy.

How does it work?

A ’Failover’ server, or ’Hot Standby’ server is used to monitor one or more servers in its installation on more than 100 different points, including network connectivity and hardware related functions. The failover server actively checks if the monitored servers are still functioning. As long as a regular “pulse” is detected, the failover server will not bring its systems online. The failover server takes over the work of the first as soon as it detects an alteration in the “pulse” of a monitored server. As soon as the original server is back online, the failover server hands the tasks back over and shuts down. To see all the steps that happen during a failover situation, please check our knowledge base.

This is completely transparent for the end-user. The clients will show “Server Connection Lost” in video panels until the failover server has taken over the tasks of the original server. This usually takes less than 30 seconds.

Storage

A failover server can monitor multiple servers at the same time, but can only take over one server at a time. The videodata of each monitored server is stored in seperate folders, and automatically shared with the monitored servers. The monitored servers are always owner of the video data, and also manage this data. The storage space on the failover server should therefore be seen as replacement storage space, not additional. More on failover storage can be found here.

With our failover add-on, we make sure that redundancy is guaranteed if a server failure is detected.