Creating a high availability (HA) environment for mission-critical applications can be a difficult task for businesses of all sizes. For smaller enterprises, the need for HA exists even if all of the expertise to create it might not. Creating HA infrastructure to support business requirements need not be a daunting task.
The IT staff need to begin at the top, with business requirements, and work through all of the links in the data center chain. The key strategic components that need to be evaluated include:
- Real business requirements for HA applications.
- Server clustering and failover.
- Redundant network infrastructure.
- Multi-homed wide area network connections.
While there are numerous components that are involved, the overall cost and construction of HA environments need not be excessive. Leverage existing data center knowledge and technologies to build a HA environment that meets enterprise requirements.