SystemConfigure for Failover

In a Loftware Enterprise SP environment using distributed services, you can configure for failover of services from one Loftware Application Server to another. However, if you configure a service to run on only one Loftware Application Server but to fail over to another if that server goes offline, then users may experience a noticeable interruption during failover.

Important! In a Loftware Enterprise SP environment with distributed services, all Loftware Application Servers that are online must be accessible to each client computer.

Tip: To prevent disruptions for users, it is recommended that you configure your Loftware Enterprise SP environment for high availability (load balancing with failover) rather than simple failover. For more information, see Configure for High Availability.

For information on configuring remote printing for failover, see Configure Remote Printing for High Availability.

To configure a service to run on one Loftware Application Server and fail over to another Loftware Application Server if the first one is incapacitated, use the following procedure.

  1. In System System Management > Service Management, locate the core service, device group service, integration service, or facility service that you want to manage.

    Note: The Service Management page is primarily relevant if your Loftware Enterprise SP environment includes two or more Loftware Application Servers installed as a distributed environment. For information about how to create a distributed Loftware Enterprise SP environment, see the Loftware Enterprise SP Installation and Configuration Guide.

    2. Note: By default, devices configured for use with a remote site are read-only in Loftware Enterprise SP and are managed by the Loftware Print Agent (LPA) or Remote Print Agent (RPA). If you want to manage devices that are configured for use with a remote site instead, see Manage Remote Site Device Services.

  2. If the Concurrent Running Servers property is displayed, select a number to indicate how many Loftware Application Servers should run the service concurrently.

    Tip: To use one or more servers as standby servers in case of the need to fail over from another server, select a number less than the maximum available.

  3. In the Instance Configurations table, select Activate for each Loftware Application Server on which the service should have the potential to run, regardless of whether the service is expected to run on that server under ordinary circumstances or only if another server fails.

    4. Important! The Font Management Service should be activated and started on all Loftware Application Servers to ensure consistent fonts.

  4. For the Priority for each Loftware Application Server, select the order in which the service should fail over from one Loftware Application Server to another. The order proceeds from the lowest number to the highest number.

    Tip: To configure one Loftware Application Server to act as a standby server for another, set the Priority for each service on the standby server to a greater number than on the server that ordinarily runs the service.

    Example: How Priority Affects Failover and Restoration

    If you have multiple standby servers, you can use the priority to control which server acts as the failover target for each service. The order proceeds from the lowest number to the highest number. That is, if a Priority 1 server fails and servers with Priority 2 and Priority 3 are available, then the server with Priority 2 will be used if it is running. If the server with Priority 2 fails, then the server with Priority 3 will be used.

    When the server with Priority 1 comes back online, the service will automatically stop running on the Priority 3 server and start running on the Priority 1 server. If you do not want the service to automatically switch servers when a failed server is restored, set the Priority for the service to 1 on all servers.