When choosing an email archiving solution, there are 3 questions you’re probably asking yourself: Do I choose a software-only solution or do I go for on-premise archiving? Do I really have to pay through the nose to get the real deal? And finally ‒ How do I know that it’s not going to break or malfunction more often than it needs to?
What is redundancy and why it matters in email archiving
In computing and email archiving, redundancy refers to the practice of duplicating critical components (hardware or network) in order to provide backup in case of component failure and increase reliability and dependability. In simple words, it means having two components instead of one.
However, redundancy doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to have two of everything. As a matter of fact, duplicating everything could make your system more vulnerable and prone to various issues. It may lead to higher production demands, which would overstress the system and make it less safe. A sound redundancy strategy entails duplicating only the key components in your archiving appliance.
Network redundancy ‒ a go or a no?
Network redundancy ensures network availability in case a device or a path fails or suddenly becomes unavailable. It is usually achieved through additional or alternate network paths implemented by redundant switches and routers. In case the primary path becomes unavailable, the alternate path is instantly deployed to ensure the continuity of network services and minimize downtime.
However, Jatheon’s archiving solution is built in such a way that network redundancy does not have to be on your list of priorities. Consider it a step forward in email archiving technology!
Our solution relies on enterprise-grade redundant hardware features such as RAID array and redundant PSU. RAID arrays are used to distribute your archived business data across multiple hard drives, so that you can still retrieve your data from the remaining drives if one disk fails. The recommended RAID levels for a reliable email archiving appliance are RAID Z. A redundant power supply contains two or more power units, so if one of them fails, the other can seamlessly take over and keep the appliance going.
Back to network redundancy and why it’s not a must. With Jatheon, there’s no need to install additional network devices and equipment because of the useful software feature called email retention policy! Setting the retention policy will keep your data completely safe even if there happens to be a power outage or network disruption. How? The data can be kept on your email server for up to 72 hours (if you’re using Exchange) and that’s more than enough time to safely redirect journaling and solve network or hardware issues.
And finally, a word or two about resilience, the system quality that is often out of focus because redundancy gets too much attention. Resilience is the ability of a system to adapt to failures, as well as to recover, self-heal and resume normal operation once the issue has been resolved. It builds on top of redundancy. This ability is what makes us at Jatheon really proud of our solution. We believe that it is the combination of hardware redundancy and a solid resilience plan that gives you a truly bulletproof email archiving solution.
To learn more about enterprise-grade hardware in email archiving, read our eBook 5 Reasons to Choose an Archiving Appliance with Server-Grade Hardware. For more information about hardware and network redundancy, schedule a demo with Jatheon today.
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