disaster recovery Archives - SIOS SANless clusters

Fact Sheet: Oil & Gas

May 28, 2023 by Jason Aw Leave a Comment

Fact Sheet: Oil & Gas

Protecting Systems from Downtime and Data Loss

SIOS Technology’s high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) software protects critical applications, databases, and systems used in the oil and gas industry from downtime and disasters due to infrastructure, network, and application failures.

Protects Both Windows and Linux Applications and Databases

SIOS offers the flexibility to build SAN and SANless clusters for Windows or Linux environments on-premises physical servers, virtualized servers, and in the cloud. Easily move Windows Server Failover Clustering to the cloud without disruption, or build a Linux clustering environment with application-specific intelligence built-in. Configure clusters across cloud availability zones and regions for maximum HA/DR protection, or create hybrid cloud to meet your specific needs. SIOS helps you ensure regulatory requirements are met, while keeping your systems online and available at all times.

SIOS DataKeeper

Use SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition software to protect your business-critical Windows applications and the databases they run on, including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, in a physical, virtual, or cloud environment. Add SIOS DataKeeper to a Windows Server Failover Clustering environment to create a SANless cluster where traditional shared storage clusters are impossible or impractical. Fast, efficient host-based replication synchronizes local storage on all cluster nodes for maximum configuration flexibility. Or, add replication to your existing SAN-based Windows cluster for DR.

Configuration Flexibility – Protect all server workloads. Replicate within a single site or across data centers.
Cost-Savings – Advanced clustering without costly application upgrades (e.g. SQL Server Enterprise Edition)
Reduce Complexity – Migrate on-prem WSFC to cloud without disruption

SIOS Protection Suite for Linux

Run business-critical applications on-premises or in a flexible, scalable cloud environment such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, without sacrificing performance or high availability/disaster recovery (HA/DR) protection. SIOS clusters uniquely failover across cloud regions or availability zones for true HA protection. SIOS Protection Suite includes powerful Application Recovery Kits (ARKs) , that automate manual tasks, monitor the entire application stack, and ensure failovers are reliable and maintain application-specific best practices. SIOS ARKs ensure HA/DR protection out-of-the-box without the need for tuning, manual scripting, or specialized training.

Advanced Automation – Auto-validated user input eliminates the need for costly, specialized skills and the risk inherent in manual scripting to configure and manage a cluster in complex environments used in the Oil and Gas industry
Deep application monitoring – Monitors the entire application environment
Application-aware automated failover – maintains compliance with application best practices for reliable failovers without surprises

The Industry’s Most Reliable Failover Protection

SIOS products protect critical applications and databases on which the systems used by oil and gas companies run from downtime and data loss.

HA/DR Fact Sheet

Applications Protected

Applications used in the oil and gas industry, such as Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), that run on SQL Server, SAP HANA, and Oracle databases can be protected by SIOS HA/DR solutions.

Environments & Platforms Protected

Microsoft Azure Cloud, AWS EC2, Google Cloud Platform, Hybrid Cloud, VMware, Hyper-V, On-Premises

Operating Systems Protected

Windows, SUSE Linux, Red Hat Linux, Rocky Linux

Databases and ERPs Protected

SQL Server, SAP, SAP S/4HANA, Oracle, SharePoint, MaxDB and many others

Learn More

Unlike traditional shared storage clusters, SIOS synchronizes local storage in a SANless
configuration, enabling failover clusters in physical, virtual, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments.

Reproduced with permission from SIOS

Mitigating IT and Business Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry with High Availability and Disaster Recovery

May 13, 2023 by Jason Aw Leave a Comment

Mitigating IT and Business Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry with High Availability and Disaster Recovery

The oil and gas industry is a critical sector in the global economy, providing energy to power transportation, heat homes, and fuel manufacturing. However, the industry is facing significant challenges, both in terms of its operations and its IT infrastructure. High availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) solutions can help alleviate these challenges, providing companies with a robust IT infrastructure that is resilient to disruptions and downtime.

IT Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry faces a range of IT challenges, including complexity of operations, aging infrastructure, security and data protection, cost control, and regulatory compliance.

Complexity of Operations

The oil and gas industry is complex and highly regulated, requiring companies to manage a range of processes and systems involved in exploration, production, transportation, and refining. This complexity can make it difficult to manage IT systems effectively and efficiently.

HA/DR solutions can help simplify IT operations by providing a consolidated, integrated approach to IT management. By consolidating IT systems and processes, streamlining workflows, and reducing the number of applications and tools used, companies can reduce complexity and improve efficiency.

Aging Infrastructure

Many oil and gas companies operate aging IT infrastructure, which can be costly to maintain and prone to downtime. Legacy systems can also be difficult to integrate with newer technologies and can pose security risks.

HA/DR solutions can help modernize IT infrastructure by providing a phased approach to modernization. By prioritizing critical systems for modernization, gradually retiring legacy systems, and replacing them with newer technologies, companies can reduce the costs of maintaining legacy systems and improve the reliability and security of their IT infrastructure. In some configurations, HA/DR systems such as sophisticated failover clustering can also provide a means of upgrading and maintaining critical systems with near zero downtime.

Security and Data Protection

Oil and gas companies handle sensitive and confidential data, such as drilling data, production data, and financial information. This data is attractive to cyber attackers, and companies need to implement robust security measures to protect against cyber threats.

HA/DR solutions can enable a multi-layered approach to security that includes network security, endpoint security, and data protection. By implementing firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, and encryption technologies, companies can protect against cyber threats and ensure the confidentiality and integrity of their data.

Cost Control

The oil and gas industry is subject to volatile commodity prices, which can impact profitability. To stay competitive, companies must effectively manage their costs, including the IT costs associated with unexpected downtime, which results in lost revenue and productivity.

HA/DR solutions can help reduce costs by providing automatic failover recovery for critical applications and minimizing unplanned downtime.

With HA/DR solutions, critical applications are automatically failed over to other active nodes when there is a failure. After the node has recovered, the data is automatically copied over to the attached storage and the application resumes. With that, unplanned downtimes are potentially averted.

Regulatory Compliance

The oil and gas industry is subject to a range of regulatory requirements, including safety, environmental, and financial regulations. Compliance can be complex and time-consuming, and non-compliance can result in fines and reputational damage.

HA/DR solutions can help companies comply with regulations by providing redundant systems and disaster recovery plans. By ensuring that critical data is protected in the event of a disruption, companies can reduce the risk of non-compliance and avoid fines and reputational damage.

Business Challenges in the Oil and Gas Industry

In addition to IT challenges, the oil and gas industry faces a range of business challenges, including declining reserves, increasing competition, and environmental concerns.

HA/DR solutions can help address these challenges by providing companies with a resilient IT infrastructure that can support the business operations needed to address these challenges.

For example, HA/DR solutions protection for continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS) ensures they have uninterrupted measurement of greenhouse gas emissions

HA/DR solutions can ensure production equipment can deliver real-time monitoring and analysis of production equipment needed to increase output and efficiency.

Increasing Competition

The oil and gas industry is highly competitive, with companies competing on a global scale for resources, market share, and profitability. As a result, companies need to be able to operate at maximum efficiency and effectiveness to remain competitive.

HA/DR solutions can help companies improve their competitiveness by ensuring that critical systems and data are available and accessible at all times. This can help to minimize downtime and maintain business continuity, which can be critical in the event of a disruption.

By implementing HA/DR solutions, companies can improve their ability to respond to market demands, make quick decisions, and execute operations efficiently. This can help to reduce costs, improve productivity, and enhance profitability, all of which are critical for success in a highly competitive industry.

Conclusion

The oil and gas industry is facing significant challenges in terms of its operations and IT infrastructure. These challenges include complexity of operations, aging infrastructure, security and data protection, cost control, and regulatory compliance. High availability and disaster recovery can help companies overcome these challenges by ensuring that critical systems and data are available and accessible at all times.

Implementing high availability and disaster recovery solutions can help companies improve their competitiveness, reduce costs, enhance productivity, and maintain business continuity. By leveraging these solutions, companies can stay ahead of the competition and continue to thrive in a dynamic and complex industry.

Contact SIOS today for High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solutions.

Reproduce with permission from SIOS

The Essential Need for Always-On Applications

April 12, 2023 by Jason Aw Leave a Comment

The Essential Need for Always-On Applications

From Mission-Critical to Everyday Operations

In today’s “always-on” world, technology plays a vital role in organizations’ efficiency and competitiveness. Some applications are classified as “mission critical,” signifying their essentiality to an organization’s core operations. These applications require high reliability and availability since any downtime or malfunction can have significant consequences. Additionally, everyday applications used in day-to-day business operations are critical to an organization’s success. Therefore, guaranteeing the high availability and reliability of all critical applications is crucial. In this blog, we will delve into why always-on applications are fundamental in today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape. Additionally, we will explore what organizations can do to ensure their applications are highly available and reliable.

Customers and Employees Expect 24/7 Application Availability

First and foremost, customers and employees expect applications to be available 24/7, from any device and any location. In today’s digital age, application downtime or slow performance can lead to lost revenue, damage to reputation, and even the loss of customers. For example, consider an e-commerce website that experiences downtime during a critical sales period. Customers may become frustrated and abandon their shopping carts, resulting in lost revenue and potentially damaging the company’s reputation. Similarly, if an employee cannot access an essential application, they may not be able to complete their work, leading to lost productivity and potentially impacting the overall success of the organization.

Furthermore, as more organizations move their operations to the cloud, ensuring the availability and reliability of applications has become even more critical. In a cloud environment, complex systems, such as ERPs, may be running across multiple servers, data centers, and even geographic regions. This complexity can make it more challenging to identify and address issues quickly, making it essential for organizations to have robust monitoring and alerting systems in place to ensure they can respond promptly to any problems that arise.

How Organizations Can Ensure Applications Are Always-On

So, what can organizations do to ensure their applications are always-on? One approach is to implement a robust disaster recovery plan that includes redundant systems and failover mechanisms. This approach can help ensure that if one component fails, another can take over seamlessly without causing downtime or disruption. Organizations must also invest in the necessary infrastructure and tools to monitor their applications continuously and proactively address any issues before they become critical.

Additionally, organizations can leverage technologies such as automation to improve the availability and reliability of their applications. For example, automating routine tasks can help reduce the risk of human error, and address issues quickly before they become critical.

Whether they’re mission-critical or not, it’s vital to ensure that applications are available and reliable to maintain productivity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. Organizations need to invest in the necessary infrastructure, tools, and processes to guarantee that their applications are highly available and reliable. They should also be ready to act quickly in response to any issues that may arise. Ultimately, an always-on approach to applications is a key factor for organizations to succeed in today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business environment.

Reproduced with permission from SIOS