So you did your reviews and research, and picked a High Availability (HA) vendor. But now that you have spent the money, you don’t feel convinced that you’ve made the right choice. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Five Key Considerations When Your HA Solution Feels Like a Mistake
1. Assess Your IT Team’s Compatibility with the HA Solution
Sometimes the difference between implementing an amazing HA solution and feeling like your solution is just a maze, can be heavily influenced by the IT team using it. Teams heavily trained on one OS, such as Windows for example, may struggle to implement solutions that can only run on a different OS. As VP of Customer Experience, I’ve also seen the impact that very senior teams can have on success as well as the struggles of teams composed of fresh IT Admins. Complex solutions that rely on scripting, programming, and diverse administrative capabilities can sometimes overwhelm teams where those skills are in short supply.
2. Importance of a Well-Architectured HA Solution
Architecture design, documents, diagrams, and details can help bolster or break even the best HA solution. Whether it is an open-source solution with a-la-carte flexibility, or a fixed commercial solution with standards and defaults, a well-thought-out architecture is essential. A product that is not a part of a well-architected solution will always present more challenges than the “ease of use” claims on the brochure. In my role as VP of Customer Experience, my team and I have seen the tremendous value of architectural diagrams and designs, PoC systems, runbooks, and activity plans.
3. Overcoming Bias in HA Solution Implementation
Ralph (not his real name) built an open source kernel in his teens, has always run Linux on his laptops and servers, and has decades of experience implementing homegrown or open-source solutions. When he joined a new team for a PoC of a commercial solution, the evaluation never found the promised success. Why? Unfortunately, Ralph spent most of his time comparing the commercial solution to his decades of past open-source scripting and management. In his view, it lacked flexibility and was too UI reliant. Bias, whether for commercial or open-source solutions, can heavily influence the success of a project, or weigh heavily on the root cause of its failure. When management, administrators, or executives cannot get past their bias they may sink the project before it can get off the ground.
4. Understanding the True Cost of High Availability
Money, money, money. Listen, investing in the purchase price of the software is only the beginning of the cost for HA. Often failure of a great product is due to a misconception that the purchase price is the only cost associated with HA. This results in a lack of proper funding and spending needed to address the company’s needs and properly implement the best solution. Additional investment is often needed and warranted to stand up sandbox systems, provide adequate training, purchase installation or validation services, and stay current with software updates and support. Sometimes the lack of funding also contributes to team staffing issues that can undermine the success of a particular HA solution. The need for funding also applies equally to home grown and open-source solutions, as these solutions will need funding for development (scripting), testing, management, maintenance, training, support, and sandbox environments as well.
5. Addressing Cultural Challenges in HA Implementation
Sometimes the real cause of a poor fit is a poor culture. I’m not suggesting that your company has a terrible culture in general, but it may have a poor culture as it relates to IT and HA specifically. Any given HA solution that must support databases, storage, networking, servers, applications, and critical services cannot thrive in a culture of silos, or undisciplined and unfettered access. If your company culture is heavy on silos and light on process and discipline, it will likely have challenges with any HA solution.
Evaluate Root Causes Before Dismissing Your HA Vendor
Before you throw out your current HA vendor, take a look to see if any of these potential issues are the root cause for the poor software fit. In some cases, the difference between trash and treasure lies more with the beholder (and implementation team) than the software. Be sure that you invest time to correct any self-inflicted issues, otherwise your search for treasure may continue to come up short.
Transform Your HA Strategy with SIOS
For a proven HA solution that adapts to your specific needs and overcomes these challenges, consider SIOS. Our solutions are designed to provide robust high availability for your critical applications, ensuring that your investment turns into a true treasure. Contact SIOS today to learn how we can help you maximize your HA strategy.
