High Availability

A characteristic of a system which aims to ensure an agreed level of operational performance, usually uptime, for a higher than normal period.

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What is High Availability in cloud computing?

High Availability in cloud computing is the ability of a system or application to remain accessible and operational for a long period of time. It is a key characteristic of cloud services that ensures they can handle different load levels and recover quickly from any failures.

  • High availability is crucial for businesses that need their applications and services to be accessible at all times.
  • It reduces the chances of downtime in the event of unexpected failures or disasters.

How does High Availability work?

High Availability works by implementing redundant resources and failover procedures to ensure continuous operation and minimize the impact of failures.

  • In a high availability system, critical applications are often distributed across multiple servers, data centers, or even geographical regions.
  • If one component fails, the workload is automatically shifted to another component to prevent service disruption.

High Availability Example

An e-commerce website that operates 24/7 needs to ensure that its customers can make purchases at any time. To achieve high availability, the website might be hosted on multiple servers in different regions. If one server goes down, the traffic is automatically redirected to another server, ensuring that the website remains operational and customers can continue shopping.

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