JSE Securities Exchange-listed MGX has launched replication services as an extension of its business continuity and standby services to reduce the time it takes to restore services in the conventional disaster recovery (DR) process.
Replication services reduce system downtime significantly especially for systems which are mission-critical to organisations where loss of life, loss of customers or loss of income could occur as a result of downtime, for example, medical services, financial services and broadcasters. However, even basic services such as e-mail, web hosting and call centres have become mission-critical to companies that are relying on information technology to deliver improved customer service.
"The difference replication makes to conventional DR is that conventional DR normally involves restoring data from tape, while replication uses a variety of tools to mirror data off-site on a 24x7x365 basis," says Ernst Wolfaardt, a director of Business Continuity Solutions at MGX.
"This means that when mission-critical servers fail, the recovery process is done immediately and virtually seamlessly by simply re-routing the users to the mirror site via the network. In most cases the users will not even be aware of the problem occurring in the background. It really gives our customers peace of mind and limits their dependencies on single points of failure," says Wolfaardt.
Should the disaster be of a catastrophic nature, such as was proved through the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001, survivors or DR teams can be moved to the recovery centre immediately and are able to continue working within a few hours, if not minutes, of the event without having to wait for backup tapes to be recovered and restored.
The service is wrapped in a comprehensive consulting and training process to determine mission-critical files to be replicated as well as optimising the bandwidth requirements to ensure effective delivery. During the consultation process, MGX will assess the hardware and software requirements of the customer and match the appropriate replication tools, of which there are many brands available across all platforms, to the requirements of the task to ensure compatibility, efficiency and delivery.
Wolfaardt believes MGX is the only vendor through support from the parent company to offer replication services at the recovery centre which is wrapped in a consulting process: "We are matching products and services to requirements based on a full assessment, while competitors are product dependant."
The key benefit of the replication services is continuous availability, as the critical systems are able to continue responding to remote enquiries from users not affected by a disaster, for example, staff at branch offices, business partners and customers.
Replication reduces the cost of downtime, for example, traders and buyers can continue their transactions.
It also eliminates the loss of data during recovery: In a typical backup scenario, backups are taken once a day. That means that if backups are done at 8pm every night, a whole day`s work will be lost should disaster strike at 6pm.
Various solutions are available ranging from hardware to software solutions using synchronous or asynchronous replication. For software solutions to be effective, the tool must have a very low processor overhead on the production environment.
The implementation period is dependant on the complexities of the production environment but can vary from one day using Microsoft NT/2000 software replication tools, to several weeks using hardware replication. MGX is able to provide clients with equipment at the recovery centre to test a solution prior to implementation. This ensures the transition is flawless when rolled out at the production site.
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MGX is a JSE Securities Exchange-listed listed information technology organisation headquartered in Johannesburg, SA, employing 2 754 people. MGX`s mission is to deliver world-class technologies through its strategic relationships with leading international technology suppliers, using its own intellectual property in the form of established methodologies, best practices, business models and software.
The company defines its business space and its value proposition offered to clients in terms of three key strategic requirements - improving enterprise performance, containing business costs and reducing business risk. In turn, MGX has focused its activities into the following five business value domains that comprehensively address these concerns: storage management, business availability management, content management, enterprise value management and software development.
These domains are offered by operating divisions MGX Storage Solutions, MGX Enterprise Solutions, MGX Content Management and MGX Business Continuity Solutions, with Software Futures delivering packaged and turnkey software solutions. These business units have strong functional and operational synergies in developing and integrating solutions for clients. The company`s client base is sourced from the top 200 companies in SA. MGX has operations in SA, Botswana, Australia, the UK and the US. During its five-year history as a listed company it has delivered consistent growth to shareholders. For more information, visit www.mgxgroup.com
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