Failover

Failover refers to the process of switching from a primary IT system to a redundant secondary system when the original system fails or is no longer reliably available. This can apply to servers, network connections, firewalls, storage systems, databases or entire data centres. Depending on the infrastructure, failover can occur automatically or be initiated manually. Its purpose is to minimise downtime and maintain the availability of critical applications and IT services. Properly configured redundant systems and mechanisms for detecting failures are essential for effective failover. The process is an important component of high availability, disaster recovery and business continuity strategies. Once the disruption has been resolved, operations can be returned to the original primary system through a failback.