Configuring Warm Standby for Bold Reports
This article outlines the steps and considerations for setting up a Warm Standby environment for Bold Reports. A warm standby setup ensures high availability and business continuity by maintaining a secondary server that can take over in case the primary server fails.
Purpose:
To provide a reliable backup solution that minimizes downtime and ensures seamless report access and generation during primary server outages.
What is Warm Standby?
A Warm Standby is a backup server that remains operational and up-to-date with the primary server but does not actively handle requests unless a failover occurs. It is a middle ground between cold standby (offline backup) and hot standby (fully active and load-balanced).
Architecture Overview:
- Primary Server: Actively handles all report generation and user requests.
- Secondary Server (Warm Standby): Receives regular sync updates from the primary server and remains ready to take over.
- Failover Mechanism: Can be manual or automated, depending on the infrastructure setup.
Setup Instructions:
1. Install Bold Reports on the Secondary Server
- Ensure the same version of Bold Reports is installed on both primary and secondary servers.
- Configure the secondary server with identical settings and dependencies.
2. Configure Data Synchronization
Synchronize the following components:
- Report definitions
- User data and permissions
- Configuration files
- Database backups (if applicable)
3. Monitor Server Health
- Implement monitoring tools to track the primary server’s status.
- Set up alerts for failures or performance degradation.
4. Failover Process
- Manual Failover: Admin manually promotes the standby server by redirecting traffic and updating DNS or load balancer settings.
- Automated Failover: Use orchestration tools or scripts to detect failure and switch roles automatically.
5. Post-Failover Actions
- Investigate and resolve the issue on the primary server.
- Resync data and optionally revert roles once the primary is restored.
Best Practices:
- Regularly test the failover process.
- Keep both servers patched and updated.
- Document all configurations and changes.
- Use secure channels for data synchronization.
Conclusion:
Implementing a warm standby setup for Bold Reports enhances system resilience and ensures minimal disruption during server failures. With proper configuration and monitoring, organizations can maintain high availability and data integrity.
