SIOS SANless clusters High-availability Machine Learning monitoring
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Reproduced with permission from SIOS
Until recently, dispatchers used computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems that presumed the likely whereabouts and availability of units in neighboring jurisdictions, but to request dispatch, they had to call those neighboring agencies on a dedicated phone line to validate actual unit location and availability. This process slowed response times and did not give first responders access to critical incident details that may be available from the dispatching agency.
To improve efficiency, NCR agency leadership and Emerging Digital Concepts (EDC) collaborated to create the Data Exchange Hub (DEH) – a data exchange and functional interoperability platform designed to provide member NCR emergency services agencies with secure access to data and applications. They used the National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) to ensure the interoperability of systems, communications, and procedures.
The DEH has become a national model of efficient regional cooperation in emergency response. Ensuring Efficient Emergency Dispatch Services for National Capital Region SIOS DataKeeper Protects Critical CAD-EX CAD2CAD Software on SQL Server in Azure.
The primary DEH information exchange is the CAD-to-CAD (C2C) Exchange, which enables dispatchers in all NCR DEH agencies to immediately understand front-line resource locations, resource availability, and to share up-to-date information on related incidents in all C2C Exchange connected CAD systems in member jurisdictions.
The NCR DEH C2C Exchange uses a Microsoft SQL Server database operating on Windows Servers and is deployed in the Azure Commercial Cloud. Given the critical nature of these systems, the DEH demanded high-availability data protection for the C2C Exchange platform Failover Clustering without Added Complexity In a traditional Windows high-availability (HA) environment involving a database, two or more database instance nodes are configured in a Windows Server failover cluster with shared storage (typically a SAN).
The database is operational on the primary node with HA failover software monitoring its operation. If an issue is detected, the HA software orchestrates failover of the database operation to the standby, secondary node(s) in the cluster. In the cloud and other environments where shared storage is not available nor cost-effective, replication is used to create a SANless cluster by synchronizing local storage on each of the cluster nodes so that, in the event of a failover, the secondary node can continue to operate with current data.
In the earlier stages of the project, the NCR IT team had deployed the C2C Exchange platform in a number of environments. This included an on-premises Fairfax County data center and subsequently in multiple third-party, national and local hosting provider environments. In these environments, the C2C Exchange database deployment architecture used Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Edition and Always On Availability Groups.
As the project expanded, the NCR IT team was driven to take advantage of advancing cloud technologies and to deploy the C2C platform to the Azure Commercial Cloud. The Cloud offered the flexibility and service levels needed to manage the C2C platform in a more virtual environment.
The Azure Cloud also allowed the NCR to deploy a more cost-effective, high-availability, database clustering solution to deliver C2C Exchange application data confidently while simultaneously reducing the higher licensing costs associated with SQL Server Enterprise Edition.
The NCR DEH C2C Exchange began employing the SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition software to create SANless clusters to protect their C2C Exchange data availability in Azure Commercial Cloud. The software runs on a two-node active-passive Windows Server Failover cluster configuration utilizing SQL Server Standard Edition with Always On Failover Clustering.
The SIOS DataKeeper software uses bandwidth-efficient, host-based, block-level replication to synchronize local storage on all database cluster nodes. If an application availability issue is detected, operation is automatically moved to the secondary node with no manual intervention required. The service levels guaranteed by cloud vendors ensure hardware operability but they do not include software and networking-related causes of application downtime.
The NCR DEH C2C Exchange has been using the SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition software in the Azure Commercial Cloud for more than two years. Participation in the interoperability program has grown. In addition to the initial members, the program now includes the Metro Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), Virginia Counties of Loudoun and Prince William, and Maryland Counties of Montgomery and Prince George’s. The C2C Exchange manages a few thousand shared units and shares data on hundreds of thousands of incidents per year between these participants.
Establishing the high-availability database cluster in the Cloud was fast and straightforward using SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition. “We simply installed SIOS DataKeeper to our Windows Server Failover Cluster nodes, configured the local node storage as SIOS managed storage for replication, and it operated seamlessly,” said Greg Crider, EDC Chief Technical Officer and Co-Founder. “An added benefit of the SIOS DataKeeper clustering software is that it enables us to perform regular, rolling software maintenance on the database by transitioning cluster nodes, on-demand, without the need for planned downtime or interruption of service.”
Since implementing SIOS DataKeeper in the NCR C2C Exchange, there have been no downtime issues involving the database or data loss between nodes. Chris Wiseman, EDC President, CEO, and Co-Founder adds, “There have been a few unexpected, uncontrollable networking issues, however, the database failed over quickly and C2C Exchange operation has continued without end users being impacted by prolonged reduction in service. The SIOS DataKeeper software enables us to deliver higher levels of data protection and delivery without needing the more costly SQL Server Enterprise Edition licensing. That adds up to significant, continuing annual savings for our stakeholders.”
The NCR C2C Exchange with SIOS DataKeeper protection is featured by the DHS/SAFECOM in a video link). It was recently put to the tested when three large fires occurred simultaneously at a bank, an apartment complex and a nursing home. The interoperability between CAD systems played a critical role in ensuring fast, efficient response to these incidents.
EDC is broadening C2C Exchange adoption around the United States in other markets with its commercially available NG-CAD-X C2C Exchange product. This functionally advanced C2C offering is being implemented by the City of Denver North Central All-Hazards Region and by greater Southeast Florida. NG-CAD-X is message compatible with the NCR C2C Exchange, deployed in the Azure Government Cloud for CJIS-compliance and law enforcement adoption in addition to fire and EMS ESF, and also implements SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition into its database architecture for all of the operational and cost-effective reasons highlighted above. “Strategic partnerships play an important role in providing our customers with the best technology solutions in the marketplace. SIOS DataKeeper in an integral part of our system and is a valuable EDC partner.” said Kevin Konczal, Vice President, EDC.
Reproduced with permission from SIOS
The financial services industry requires constant uptime and reliability to meet the demands of its customers. Even a few minutes of downtime can result in significant financial loss and reputational damage.
This webinar provides cost-efficient best practices to ensure that transactional, processing, and administrative financial systems in Windows environments remain protected and continue to operate through hardware failures, administrator errors, routine maintenance, and site-wide disasters.
Watch this webinar on-demand to learn about the tools and techniques available on AWS to achieve high availability and gain valuable insights on how to implement a robust and resilient infrastructure that can meet the demanding requirements of the financial services industry.
Reproduced with permission from SIOS
“SIOS DataKeeper saved us from becoming non-operational.” – Chris Almond, CEO, MailHippo
Secure information transmission is essential to today’s healthcare providers. From accessing patient test results and medical images to sharing doctor’s notes and health records, quality healthcare requires the ability to manage and transmit health information securely and efficiently. However, many organizations face the challenges of doing so while complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which requires them to ensure confidentiality, integrity and security of any electronically stored, protected health information (known as “ePHI”). MailHippo (https://www.MailHippo.com) is an innovative company that enables healthcare providers to send and receive encrypted HIPAA-compliant emails and to collect medical data using HIPAA compliant Web forms. When MailHippo needed a way to protect their critical secure email platform from downtime and disasters, they turned to SIOS Technology.
The company’s business-critical encrypted email platform runs on SQL Server 2016 instances in two geographically separated, on-premises data centers.
MailHippo needed a robust high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) solution to protect the SQL Server database that their mission-critical applications run on. “Our medical provider customers expect their HIPAA compliant email to be available 24/7,” said Chris Almond, CEO, MailHippo. “Their information is essential to their ability to provide vital health services to their patients.”
The company considered using Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) and SQL Server Enterprise Edition with Always On Availability Groups to add HA protection. However, they did not want the cost and complexity of purchasing and managing the shared storage required by this solution, which would also introduce the risk of a single point of failure. “We needed an affordable, reliable solution that would allow us to use SQL Server Standard Edition,” said Almond. They also wanted to leverage their two on-premises data centers running across different geographic regions to provide disaster recovery protection.
After rigorous research of HA/DR products, MailHippo decided to build a two-node cluster using SQL Server Standard Edition Always On Failover clustering in one data center and a third node in their second data center for disaster recovery. By simply adding SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition to their WSFC, the company could replicate local storage on the primary cluster node synchronously to the second node and asynchronously to the third node.
With this cluster configuration, if a SQL Server failure on the primary cluster node is detected, operation is automatically moved to the secondary node and operation continues. Since DataKeeper synchronizes local storage on both primary and secondary nodes, operation can continue with an RPO of zero. In the event of a site-wide disaster, operation can be switched to the DR site.
“The tight integration with WSFC was one of the key reasons we chose SIOS,” said Almond. “We used WSFC to create the clusters for our SQL Server environment just like a traditional cluster, and we simply added SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition. This lets us use local storage without the need for a costly SAN.”
SIOS software uses performance-optimized host-based, block-level replication to synchronize local storage on the primary and standby nodes in the cluster, creating storage that appears to the WSFC as a SAN.
MailHippo has been using SIOS SANless clusters and achieving high availability and disaster protection. By using SANless clusters, MailHippo also eliminated the single point of failure risk of a shared storage cluster. “SIOS DataKeeper is a great fit for a rapidly growing company like ours. It’s easy to use, cost-efficient and most of all, reliable,” added Almond.
The SIOS system was put to the test in a recent downtime incident. “We lost our primary SQL Server when both power supplies failed,” said Almond. “But thanks to SIOS, we were able to get the platform back online quickly. Without DataKeeper, we would have required many hours and a mountain of manual work to recover everything. SIOS DataKeeper saved us from becoming non-operational.”
Reproduced with permission from SIOS
A major insurance company wanted to migrate its mission-critical system called ‘channel system’ to the cloud. Channel system included both an in-house system, used by its employees and call centers, and a third-party system used by its sales agencies. The system is positioned as the core system of the company’s business – even a short system failure and downtime would impact the business largely.
The channel system operated in an on-premises, virtualized platform provided by Hitachi. However, the hardware was aging and support for the middleware was ending. This led the insurance company to launch a project to update the infrastructure and move the system to the public cloud to cut running costs. Hitachi took on the responsibility for configuring the system for this project.
The channel system’s architecture mostly consisted of Windows software. “We decided to adopt Azure as the cloud platform as we could confirm that there was a high affinity between the system architecture and Microsoft Azure, and it would be the most cost-effective option. There were some things that cannot be changed, but we focused on placing first priority on the customer’s needs,” said Takuro Nishino, System Engineer at Hitachi.
One of the company’s requirements for the new infrastructure was to build a cluster configuration. Additionally, the database, which was built with a cluster configuration using DBMS, along with the job management middleware ‘JP1’ had to be configured in a cluster node in order to secure high availability (HA) even after the cloud migration. The existing system used WSFC (Windows Server Failover Clustering) to configure the HA cluster using Windows Server functions with a shared storage (SAN).
However, as of 2019, it was not possible to have a SAN-based configuration in Azure. Changing the HA software was considered as an option, but, “Considering the impact on the system, the priority was to move the system to the cloud while maintaining the application and infrastructure architecture as much as possible.” said Nishino. Hitachi decided to look for a solution that will both maintain the WSFC cluster configuration and replicate data without the SAN, while using the same HA software.
After some research, Hitachi found SIOS DataKeeper, a data replication software that can build a cluster and integrate with WSFC on Azure. DataKeeper is an Azure-certified product, which enables you to synchronously replicate data from the active node to the standby node. By using DataKeeper with WSFC, the company would be able to make JP1 redundant. Hitachi also officially supported and had experience with this configuration. “DataKeeper was the only solution that made our project feasible – migrating to the cloud while maintaining the cluster configuration, without changing the HA software,” Nishino recalled.
Along with Hitachi, Hitachi Solutions, having a track record of implementing DataKeeper, took part in this project by creating detailed design documents and construction procedure manuals. The actual work of implementing DataKeeper was done by members of the Insurance company’s IT department.
Hitachi Solutions created the basic designs and detailed designs after defining the requirements, and also provided templates to make it easier for the insurance company to implement the system. During this process, thanks to DataKeeper’s easy-to-understand features such as the parameter settings. Hitachi Solutions was able to create a procedure manual without any difficulty by simply customizing the default values to suit the customer environment. Hitachi Solutions also created a DataKeeper testing environment within its own local environment to identify any issues in advance – this process helped them create accurate procedure manuals and configure the production environment smoothly.
In October 2022, the insurance company’s system migration to Azure was completed. Since the migration, the HA cluster configuration – DataKeeper and WSFC – has been operating steadily. The company agrees that achieving an HA cluster configuration this way, without changing the system architecture or HA software, was the best way to migrate the system to Azure.
Hitachi and Hitachi Solutions were able to succeed in the insurance company’s cloud migration project by integrating DataKeeper within the HA cluster configuration. “The fact that we were able to introduce DataKeeper in our customer’s project was a great achievement. We’d like to apply our knowledge and achievements gained from this project in other Azure projects as well,” said Kenta Otsuka, Sales at Hitachi. “In fact, we have proposed DataKeeper to other clients who are also considering a migration of their systems to Azure. The experience of working with SIOS Technology through Hitachi Solutions and the skills and knowledge we gained will definitely contribute to our business in the future.”
“When the project began, Azure didn’t have a shared disk function, so DataKeeper was the only option. Even though SAN-based configuration is currently available in Azure, based on the fact that we were able to achieve a smooth migration and stable operation in this project by implementing DataKeeper, DataKeeper will continue to be a solution when redundancy is required in Azure migration and configuration projects,” said Satoshi Noguchi, System Engineer at Hitachi.
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Reproduced with permission from SIOS