Providing Open Architecture High Availability Solutions

2.0 Introduction

High Availability, or HA, is the term associated with computer systems which exhibit almost no

downtime. This document has been generated by the High Availability Forum (HA Forum) to

make it easier to create open architecture high availability systems using Intel Architecture or other

processors. This section discusses the HA Forum, and defines the scope of this document.

2.1 Audience

This document has been written for anyone with an interest in designing and developing HA

systems or the hardware or software components used in HA systems. It is also useful as an

introduction for purchasers of HA systems. The focus of the document is on the following areas:

• Introduction to HA

• Capabilities used in HA systems

• Implementing HA systems using an open architecture

2.2 HA Forum

The HA Forum was formed to make high availability systems more readily available. The Forum

members are Dialogic, an Intel Company, GoAhead Software, Hewlett Packard Corporation, Intel

Corporation, LynuxWorks, Inc., MontaVista Software, Motorola Computer Group, Radisys

Corporation and Ziatech Corporation.

The goals of the Forum are to simplify and accelerate the development of open architecture

systems which can provide high levels of service availability. By establishing standards for these

systems it will no longer be necessary for an HA system to be built solely of components from a

single company. Open architecture high availability systems will promote more interoperable

solutions in the hardware, OS, middleware and application spaces.

2.3 Document Organization and Scope

This document has been written in the order one would follow if designing an HA system. In most

cases the following steps would be used:

1. Decide what high availability means for that system

2. Understand what capabilities (and how much of each) are needed

3. Select appropriate building blocks to design the system

Consequently, this document has been separated into four major sections:

• Introduction — Sections 1 and 2

• HA Overview — Sections 3 and 4

• Capabilities to be considered when designing or integrating an HA system — Sections 5 and 6

• Implementation of the capabilities at the various layers in the system — Sections 7 through 11