when highest dependability is required in a building automation project, our NETx BMS Platform as well as our NETx MP Server can be integrated as a main/backup solution. This means that two server instances are installed on two different locations – either on two different physical servers/workstations or within two different virtual machines. Such a main/backup solution has the following advantages:
- Increased reliability: in case of a hardware failure (e.g. corrupted memory or a defect hard disk), the physical workstation will fail and crash. In such a case, the backup server can take over the control.
- Eases maintenance tasks: however, a main/backup does not only increase the reliability – it also reduces the downtime for maintenance tasks. For example, if the Windows operating system was updated, a reboot may be required. During such a reboot, the backup server can take over.
- Changing configuration without downtime: for some configuration changes, the NETx Server has to be restarted. Again, during this restart the backup server can take over.
The following sections provide for details about the main/backup functionality: