Implementation Guide › Installing a Disaster Recovery Deployment › Disaster Recovery Overview › How a Disaster Recovery Deployment on the Endpoint Works

How a Disaster Recovery Deployment on the Endpoint Works

A disaster recovery deployment creates a duplicate of your production Distribution Server database, helps ensure that data sent from endpoints is not lost in a system failure, and makes it easier to restore the production environment after a disaster.

The following process describes how a disaster recovery deployment on the endpoint works:

1. You configure the endpoint to work against a list of production and disaster recovery Distribution Servers.
2. At the specified time, the endpoint attempts to connect to the Distribution Server in the production environment.
   1. The endpoint attempts to connect to the first production Distribution Server in its list. If it does not connect, it tries to connect to that Distribution Server for a specified number of attempts. One of the following happens:
      • The endpoint connects to the production Distribution Server. The process ends at this step.
      • The endpoint can not connect to the production Distribution Server. The process goes to step b.

      Note: The number of times the endpoint attempts to connect to Distribution Server and the Distribution Servers to connect to is defined in the Distribution_Server configuration setting in the communication section and max_dh_command_retry configuration setting in the policyfetcher section.

   2. The endpoint attempts to connect to the second production Distribution Server in its list, then the third, and so on (for the same defined number of times, if necessary). One of the following happens:
      • The endpoint connects to a production Distribution Server. The process ends at this step.
      • The endpoint can not connect to any production Distribution Server, and the cycle ends. The process goes to step 3.
3. The endpoint repeats Step 2 for a specified number of cycles. One of the following happens:
   • The endpoint connects to a production Distribution Server. The process ends at this step.
   • The endpoint does not connect to a production Distribution Server. The process goes to the next step.

     Note: The number of times the endpoint attempts to connect to Distribution Server and the Distribution Servers to connect to is defined in the Distribution_Server configuration setting in the communication section and max_dh_command_retry configuration setting in the policyfetcher section.

4. The endpoint attempts to connect to the first disaster recovery Distribution Server in its list. If it does not connect to this Distribution Server, it tries to connect to the second disaster recovery Distribution Server in its list, then the third, and so on, until the endpoint connects to a disaster recovery Distribution Server.

   Note: If an endpoint cannot connect to a production or disaster recovery Distribution Server, it will not send a heartbeat to the DMS. To determine if an endpoint is online or offline, check what time the last heartbeat notification was sent to the DMS.

5. After it has connected to a disaster recovery Distribution Server, the endpoint continually tries to connect to a production Distribution Server. One of the following happens:
   • The endpoint connects to a production Distribution Server, and returns to the production environment.
   • The endpoint does not connect a production Distribution Server. The endpoint remains in the disaster recovery environment, and repeats Step 4.

   Note: For more information about the policyfetcher and communication sections, see the Reference Guide.