Failover Blog 1 discussed about the need for failover and Blog 2 about the architecture and enabling of the failover setup in NetFlow Analyzer Enterprise edition. So, what happens after the setup of failover and how does it work when the primary server goes down is what will be explained in this final blog.
Once the setup is complete, the hotstandby server watches the health of the primary server and syncs with it for updated information on the data and configurations through HTTPS and MySql replication. In case the primary server crashes or is shutdown, the collectors will try to contact the hotstandby server for sending the collected data. There is no data loss from collectors as the collected data is not discarded. The collectors will store the data till either the primary server is back up or until the hotstandby server becomes the new primary server.
So, when does the hotstandby server become the primary server ? While the collectors try sending data to the hotstandby server becuase the primary server is unavailable, the hoststandby server will check if the primary server is still up. When the time set for the failover on the primary server has elapsed, the hotstandby server becomes the new primary server and thus starts accepting the new data and configurations from the collectors.
Now, the collectors and the central server continues to work normally through a hassle free swicth over, thus enabling users to get continuous access to their data and reports. When the primary server does come up later, it automatically becomes the hotstandby server whle the new primary server continues to run so. This setup will continue and if at any later point the new primary server goes down, the process repeats so that reporting is never effected.
With Failover also acting as a data backup mechanism and seamless switchover ensuring 100% up time, NetFlow Analyzer Enterprise edition is a class above other similar solutions
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Regards,
Don Thomas Jacob
