Dan2021. What an interesting year. With the world turned upside down by a pandemic that seemingly had its sights set on...
Switching Replication Engines with Zero Downtime and Less Risk
Gravic
Dan
We are often asked about the best and safest methods available for replacing one version of a data replication engine with another version (perhaps changing data replication engine vendors along the way). Why? There are many reasons: perhaps the existing engine needs a “normal” upgrade to a newer version that contains bug fixes or that incorporates new functionality. Perhaps the existing engine supplier doesn’t offer the best value, its capabilities are stale, or it doesn’t run on the newer platforms to which the customer is upgrading. Perhaps the customer wants to standardize hardware and software from a single supplier (e.g., HPE), and wants to simplify its ordering/re-ordering process.
Regardless, switching replication engines with zero downtime is a topic with immense complexity. In this white paper, Switching Replication Engines with Zero Downtime and Less Risk, we discuss how a data replication engine can be changed/upgraded without taking either the application or the database offline, while providing full disaster recovery protection as the project takes place.
This paper discusses numerous approaches and methods to thwart common problems faced during a migration: Version Independence (avoids interoperating different software versions); utilizing two nodes (if that is all you have available to you); utilizing three nodes (for partial hardware migrations); utilizing four nodes (for a full hardware refresh); and the difference between upgrading a uni-directional vs a bi-directional data replication environment.
Switching replication engines with zero downtime is obviously never easy. With proper preparation, planning, time, and project assessment, all migrations should go flawlessly. HPE Shadowbase software enables companies to leverage these migration methods with proven solutions and implementations. Please contact your HPE account team or contact the HPE Shadowbase team at Gravic if you are interested in discussing your specific project plans and how we can help realize them.
