As we modernize online services, the need increases to put systems into place that allow servers to perform optimally. High availability is a term referring to the concept of having servers always at the ready and fulfilling user requests in a timely manner. An important part of planning for high availability is planning for the event of server failure.
Some websites must support thousands and possibly millions of users while still maintaining their speed and accuracy. Depending on the nature of the application or service your business is providing, you will need very high availability. To support that need servers are joined into a group, or cluster, that then function as a team to fulfill user requests. A load balancer is responsible for distributing user requests across the cluster.
By utilizing load balancers, your business can constantly keep routing user requests to the next available server. This significantly reduces the probability that any users would receive error messages, thereby keeping your clients engaged and using your site or application. This system is known as a high availability configuration, and it makes sure that your users can always access the resources they need.
When determining if a system has high availability, the uptime is shown as a percentage. The percentage is based on the amount of uptime per year. An example of how you might hear this used would be if a system had a 99.999% (“five nines”) of uptime, that means there are around five minutes of downtime or unavailability for the entire year.
The most critical aspects that need to be looked out for to ensure that high availability is a constant are detecting failures and eliminating points of failure. Both points are addressed using your load balancer or application delivery controller. By routing client requests to the proper server, the load balancer maintains peak performance while simultaneously testing the health of other servers.
Resonate can ensure high availability for your company’s website or application. We utilize load balancing at both the server and network levels to distribute traffic optimally for your business. Our server health checks and proprietary algorithm offer advanced load balancing. Resonate wants to bring success to your organization and business. Contact us today to learn more about the services we provide.
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