June 8, 2025 |
The Best Rolling Upgrade Strategy to Enhance Business ContinuityThe Best Rolling Upgrade Strategy to Enhance Business ContinuityWhen it comes to maintaining uptime, few things matter more than how you handle upgrades. For many IT pros, the traditional approach—taking systems offline, upgrading everything at once, and praying for the best—is a recipe for late nights and unexpected calls. That’s where rolling upgrades come in. A rolling upgrade strategy allows you to upgrade your systems incrementally, node by node or component by component, without bringing the entire environment down. It’s a powerful way to maintain business continuity during maintenance windows and system updates. In this blog post, we’ll break down what a rolling upgrade strategy is, why it’s critical for high availability, and how to do it right. Understanding Rolling UpgradesA rolling upgrade is the process of updating systems or applications in a phased, sequential manner rather than all at once. This allows different parts of your environment to continue running while others are being updated. Key components of a rolling update strategy:
Rolling upgrades are especially critical in high-availability environments where downtime is not an option. By carefully planning and executing these upgrades, you can keep systems online and ensure customer satisfaction. The Importance of a Rolling Upgrade Strategy for Business ContinuityWhy should you care about rolling upgrades? Simple: they minimize disruption and maximize uptime.
With a sound rolling upgrade strategy, you don’t just upgrade your system—you upgrade your resilience. Challenges in Implementing Rolling UpgradesRolling upgrades offer plenty of benefits, but they’re not without challenges. Implementing them successfully takes planning, coordination, and discipline.
Avoiding these pitfalls begins with knowing what to expect—and having a plan to address them. Best Practices for a Successful Rolling Upgrade StrategyHere’s how to get it right:
A successful rolling upgrade strategy isn’t just technical—it’s organizational. Everyone needs to be on the same page, from engineers to execs. Implementing Your Rolling Upgrade StrategySo, how do you start?
Example: A retail chain upgraded its POS infrastructure across hundreds of stores using a rolling strategy. By upgrading five stores per night and verifying success before proceeding, they avoided widespread outages and maintained 24/7 operation. Benefits of the Best Rolling Upgrade StrategyWhen done right, rolling upgrades do more than just keep the lights on.
Rolling upgrades aren’t just about survival—they’re about thriving in a world where uptime is non-negotiable. Rolling Upgrade Strategy and SolutionsTo wrap things up:
At SIOS, we understand the value of uptime. Our high availability solutions support rolling upgrades across Windows and Linux environments, helping you keep your critical applications online, even during updates. Whether you’re running SQL Server, SAP, or custom applications, SIOS provides the tools to execute a smart, seamless rolling upgrade strategy. Is your upgrade strategy up to the challenge? If not, maybe it’s time to roll with a better plan. Request a demo today! Author: Dave Bermingham, Senior Technical Evangelist at SIOS Reproduced with permission from SIOS |
June 3, 2025 |
How to Patch Without the Pause: Near-Zero Downtime with HAHow to Patch Without the Pause: Near-Zero Downtime with HAProtecting Critical Systems from Downtime & DisastersThis white paper explores how organizations can overcome the downtime risks traditionally associated with patch management by integrating high availability (HA) clustering solutions. It explains how SIOS LifeKeeper and DataKeeper software enable a rolling update process, allowing patches to be tested and applied on secondary nodes without interrupting production systems. This approach minimizes downtime, reduces the risk of patch failures, and ensures compliance with cybersecurity regulations like HIPAA and PCI DSS. Reproduced with permission from SIOS |
May 27, 2025 |
SIOS LifeKeeper Demo: How Rolling Updates and Failover Protect PostgreSQL in AWSSIOS LifeKeeper Demo: How Rolling Updates and Failover Protect PostgreSQL in AWSThis week, Dave Bermingham, Director of Customer Success at SIOS Technology, walks through how LifeKeeper for Linux delivers high availability for PostgreSQL databases running in AWS.
High availability (HA) and zero-downtime maintenance have long been holy grails for enterprises running mission-critical databases in the cloud. Dave recently showcased how LifeKeeper for Linux solution tackles these challenges for PostgreSQL databases in AWS. The demo, centered on minimizing downtime during planned maintenance and automating recovery from unplanned failures, highlights the growing demand for resilient cloud architectures. Reproduced with permission from SIOS
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May 21, 2025 |
How to Assess if My Network Card Needs ReplacementHow to Assess if My Network Card Needs ReplacementA network interface card (NIC), often referred to as a network card, is a vital component of any server infrastructure. It enables systems in a cluster to communicate with each other and the outside world. If your NIC is experiencing issues, it can compromise the health of your cluster, lead to false node failures, or increase the risk of split-brain scenarios. Recognizing the signs of a failing NIC early can save time, reduce downtime, and maintain high availability. In this blog, we’ll explore how to assess whether your network card needs replacement, the symptoms to look out for, and the tools that can aid you in diagnosing the issue. Common Symptoms of a Failing NIC1. Intermittent ConnectivityOne of the first signs of NIC failure is unstable or sporadic connectivity. You may notice dropped packets, high latency, or difficulty reaching external hosts. These issues can cause nodes in a LifeKeeper cluster to temporarily lose connection and trigger unnecessary failovers. 2. Degraded Network SpeedIf a system is underperforming on network-related tasks such as slow replication, sluggish application response, or delayed heartbeat communication, it may be due to a faulty NIC that is no longer operating at its rated speed (e.g., 1 Gbps vs. 10 Gbps). In clustered environments, slow replication is especially concerning because it delays data synchronization between nodes. This not only increases recovery time in the event of a failover but also raises the risk of data loss or inconsistent state across systems if a complete failure occurs before the replication finishes. 3. System Logs Showing Network ErrorsFrequent kernel or system log messages related to the NIC driver or interface, such as “link down,” “NIC reset,” or “device not responding,” are red flags. These messages indicate the OS is having trouble communicating with the card at a hardware or driver level. 4. Unusual Heat or Physical DamageWhile not common, physical inspection may reveal damage such as scorch marks or excessive heat emission. Hardware issues at this level can quickly deteriorate performance or cause complete failures, which is certainly not desirable in any environment. 5. Issues in Virtual or Cloud EnvironmentsIn virtualized and cloud environments, NIC behavior can be affected not just by the underlying hardware but also by the configuration of the hypervisor or virtual networking layer. For example, virtual NICs assigned through VMware or Hyper-V may show degraded performance if incompatible/outdated drivers are used, or even if the VM is assigned an adapter type that is not optimized for the desired workload. Network Card Troubleshooting Tools for Windows and LinuxDiagnosing NIC issues early helps minimize downtime and prevent unnecessary failovers. The following are essential tools for identifying hardware or driver-related NIC issues, including options for both Linux and Windows environments:
When to Replace Your NIC?It may be time to replace your NIC if:
Preventative Measures to Avoid Network Card FailuresTo avoid NIC-related failures:
Final Thoughts on Maintaining Network Interface Card HealthThe NIC may not be the most glamorous piece of hardware, but its health is critical to a stable, highly available environment. Knowing when and how to assess a network card’s performance helps prevent unexpected downtime, ensures seamless failover behavior, and keeps your cluster communication resilient. SIOS Technology Corporation provides high availability cluster software that protects & optimizes IT infrastructures with cluster management for your most important applications. Request a demo today. Author: Aidan Macklen, Customer Experience Engineer Intern at SIOS Technology Corp. Reproduced with permission from SIOS |
May 18, 2025 |
SIOS Technology to Demonstrate High Availability Clustering Software for Mission-Critical Applications at Red Hat Summit, Milestone Technology Day and XPerience Day, and SQLBits 2025SIOS Technology to Demonstrate High Availability Clustering Software for Mission-Critical Applications at Red Hat Summit, Milestone Technology Day and XPerience Day, and SQLBits 2025All practitioners are invited to provide input on high availability and disaster recovery trends as SIOS gathers insights for its 2025 HA/DR Practices Survey Report SAN MATEO, Calif. – May 6, 2025 – SIOS Technology Corp., a leading provider of application high availability (HA) and disaster recovery (DR) solutions, today announced it will demonstrate its high availability clustering software for business-critical applications at four leading technology events this spring. SIOS also announced that it is inviting all IT practitioners to participate in its newly launched 2025 HA/DR Practices Survey, designed to gather insights into current trends, challenges, and strategies for ensuring application uptime and data protection
At each event, SIOS experts will demonstrate how SIOS LifeKeeper and DataKeeper software provide high availability and disaster recovery for critical applications like SQL Server, SAP, and Oracle. Attendees will learn how SIOS clustering software ensures application uptime, eliminates data loss, and simplifies HA/DR across physical, virtual, cloud, and hybrid environments. SIOS clustering software enables IT teams to create highly available application environments without the need for shared storage. Through intelligent application monitoring, real-time data replication, and automated failover and recovery, SIOS ensures business continuity with minimal complexity and reduced cost. With support for Windows and Linux in any infrastructure, SIOS solutions are trusted by enterprises worldwide to protect mission-critical operations. SIOS Launches Survey to Gather Insights on HA/DR Practices As part of its commitment to advancing resilience strategies in the enterprise, SIOS is launching its 2025 HA/DR Practices Survey to collect insights into the challenges, priorities, and real-world strategies used by IT professionals to ensure application uptime and data protection. The results will be compiled into the SIOS 2025 State of High Availability and Disaster Recovery Report, providing valuable benchmarks for the industry. All practitioners, including attendees of the Red Hat Summit, Milestone Technology Day, Milestone XPerience Day, and SQLBits, are invited to participate in the survey here. # # # About SIOS Technology Corp. SIOS Technology Corp. high availability and disaster recovery solutions ensure availability and eliminate data loss for critical Windows and Linux applications operating across physical, virtual, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. SIOS clustering software is essential for any IT infrastructure with applications requiring a high degree of resiliency, ensuring uptime without sacrificing performance or data – protecting businesses from local failures and regional outages, planned and unplanned. Founded in 1999, SIOS Technology Corp. (https://us.sios.com) is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with offices worldwide. SIOS, SIOS Technology, SIOS DataKeeper, SIOS LifeKeeper and associated logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of SIOS Technology Corp. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Media Contact: Beth Winkowski Reproduced with permission from SIOS |
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