XProtect Management Server Failover (explained)

If a standalone computer running the Management Server service and a SQL Server has a hardware failure, it does not affect recordings or the recording server. However, these hardware failures can result in downtime for operators and administrators who are not already logged in to the clients.

XProtect Management Server Failover provides high availability and disaster recovery for the management server. Thanks to the synchronous data replication between the computers in the failover cluster, there is no data loss in case of hardware failure.

XProtect Management Server Failover is configured between two computers represented as nodes.

To make the failover work, the following system components must run on each node:

  • Management Server service

  • Event Server service

  • Log Server service

  • SQL Server

If the management server becomes unavailable on one node, the other node takes over the tasks of running the system components. The remote servers connect to the node that runs the system components.

The SQL database contents are replicated in real-time in a secure manner between the computers.

XProtect Management Server Failover can help you mitigate system downtime. There are a number of reasons why you would want to use a cluster:

  • Server failure – If a server fails, you can run the Management Server service and SQL Server from another node in your management server failover configuration while you resolve the problems

  • System updates and security patches – Applying security patches on a standalone management server can be time-consuming, resulting in extended periods of downtime. When you have a failover management server configuration, you can apply system updates and security patches with minimal downtime

  • Seamless connection – Because clients and applications always connect to a running management server, failover is seamless