Web/System server replication

Slime101 · 31 Jan 2011 at 20:10

We are looking at new systems t run our entire business - one method that developers keep suggesting is running everything on the web, our multiple websites, internal systems, order processing the whole works.

We would only consider this if we could replicate the web hosted services with an internal server so that if our web connection goes down we could still continue to work and take orders with the systems syncronising once the connection was restored.

How would we go about this syncronisation and what equipment would be needed??

Slime101 · 31 Jan 2011 at 22:04

The problem isnt with the hosting, we use a clustered hosting system.

The problem lies with the connection from the office to the 'net - we are rural and BT are crap but our only option for us so we need to be able to continue our work, taking orders from the post and telephone and processing them through the produciton systems which are potentially hosted remotely when the ADSL line fails.

We have to have remote hosting as customers need access to the sites to place orders - hence it must be in 2 places at once, either in complete sync or very close to it.

Slime101 · 31 Jan 2011 at 22:19

Our exchange only has BT equipment, we are a mile from the exchange (in the old exchange building!) and can only have 8mb (haha) ADSL, nothing else.

Our exchange isnt LLU.

Our ADSL goes down several times a year, its been getting better but ANY outage with remote services would mean 0 business could happen without a local replicated server. The local version would also allow us to control the production process quicker and easier than pulling data over the 'net all the time.

Slime101 · 31 Jan 2011 at 22:46

Mid Dorset!!

Leased line out here is v.expensive so non-starter. We have our incoming firewall router with failover to either cable/2nd ADSL and/or 3G and have a 3G modem for emergency but in the sticks reception is poor too.

The OS on the hosting is primarily linux as its php based although we have access to windows/asp and a hybrid system at the click of a button if needed.

The actual replication should be pretty low, once the system is installed in either location a copy will be taken and the data placed in the other location using a flash drive/hdd - fform there daily/hoursly/live replication is merely customer data and order info which is probable no more than a few Kb an order and as we arent a multi-national we dont process thousands of orders a day. The biggest files to move are PDF's but again they are on the whole faily small and most would be created on the web server remotely so incoming mainly to our local replication for further processing which is a bonus as incoming is much better than outgoing on our connection.

Slime101 · 31 Jan 2011 at 23:08

I cant imagine needing to do a full sync except when the system is comissioned for the first time.

With regards to the point Mikehiow made about both sources having changed and getting them back in sync - we intend on having 2 ranges of references for orders placed onto the system, this enables us to segregate internal and web sources and sync things up if the system goes down as they are unique and can never create the same ref from the seperate locations. Other info fed back and forth would be things like status updates which would be one direction only.