High availability solutions for IBM i are commonplace these days. Some opt for software-based logical replication solutions while others choose hardware equivalents, some even pair the two.
Here are some key reasons why people choose to implement high availability solutions:
Business Continuity: High availability solutions ensure that critical applications and data are always accessible, even in the face of hardware failures, software errors, or other unexpected disruptions. This helps organizations maintain business operations without significant downtime, reducing financial losses and preserving customer trust.
Data Protection: IBM i high availability solutions often include data replication and backup mechanisms that protect against data loss. This is crucial for industries with strict data retention and compliance requirements, such as healthcare and finance.
Minimized Downtime: High availability solutions are designed to minimize downtime by quickly switching to a secondary system in case of a failure. This reduces the impact on end-users and allows organizations to maintain their service level agreements (SLAs).
Enhanced Reliability: IBM i systems are known for their reliability, but even the most reliable hardware can experience issues. High availability solutions add an extra layer of redundancy to further enhance the overall reliability of the system.
Disaster Recovery: Beyond hardware failures, high availability solutions can help organizations recover from disasters such as natural disasters, fires, or cyberattacks. Data and applications are replicated to a secondary site, providing a means to continue operations in a different location if needed.
Competitive Advantage: Having a high availability solution in place can give businesses a competitive advantage. It can be a selling point when dealing with customers who require continuous service, and it can demonstrate a commitment to reliability and data protection.
Regulatory Compliance: Many industries are subject to regulatory requirements that mandate high levels of data availability and protection. Implementing high availability solutions can help organizations meet these compliance requirements.
Cost Savings: While implementing high availability solutions involves upfront costs, it can ultimately save money by reducing the financial impact of downtime and data loss. It can also extend the lifespan of existing hardware by ensuring it is used efficiently.
Customer Satisfaction: Ensuring that critical applications are always available can lead to higher customer satisfaction. Customers and clients value consistency and reliability in the services they use.
Peace of Mind: High availability solutions provide peace of mind for IT teams and business leaders. Knowing that there is a plan in place to handle disruptions and failures can reduce stress and allow for better planning and decision-making.
But in the modern age is having high availability enough? In the fast-paced world of IT, the unsung hero of high availability solutions often works silently in the background. It seamlessly replicates data from a primary source machine to one or more designated targets while keeping a vigilant eye on its own health, automatically fixing anomalies as they occur. However, it's not always smooth sailing; if some form of corruption (accidental or malicious) strikes the source machine, a well-intentioned HA solution will unwittingly propagate the data to the target server(s), leaving corrupted data on multiple fronts.
Maxava Capture Point Restore (CPR) is an archiving and point-in-time recovery solution for critical IBM i data. Working either alongside high availability solutions or on its own CPR allows administrators to take snapshots of critical data prior to changes, on a scheduled basis, or during application processes, all while operating discreetly beneath the surface and without causing any disruptions to your users. These capture points create a repository of historical data that can be restored in the event of data corruption or malicious deletion.
Key features of Maxava CPR include the ability to store capture points on any FTP device, flexible retention policies to manage which points are kept and for how long, and non-disruptive recovery that doesn't require system downtime.
For IBM i professionals concerned about data integrity in the face of corruption or cyber threats, Maxava CPR provides an extra layer of protection and recoverability for your most vital assets.
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