Switch Your Data Replication Engine to HPE Shadowbase Solutions

HPE Shadowbase Data Replication Solves Multiple Critical Problems

It provides:

• Data backup for business continuity
• Data distribution for sharing data with corporate data warehousing initiatives
• Value-add real-time services with its rapid data-sharing approaches

Therefore, most IT installations already have one or more data replication solutions installed on their systems to meet these needs.

Related Content

Publications: HPE Shadowbase Zero Downtime Migration (ZDM)

Concerns and Questions

Many teams understand the need to migrate but have concerns and questions

• Will the Shadowbase solution work as expected?
• Will the Shadowbase solution satisfy all of the customizations of the existing software?
• Is Shadowbase replication scaled (configured) properly for load to keep pace with the application?
• Is Shadowbase software easy to learn and maintain?
• How will the migration occur without interrupting the mission-critical application?
• Full business continuity protection is necessary during the migration in the event that production fails, so how do the production and backup environments keep synchronized during the migration?

Unfortunately, many IT teams believe that these conditions cannot be met, and the potential costs in terms of downtime and data loss are too great to risk migrating.

The result: being stuck with a painful, unsatisfactory solution

• Support is unsatisfactory
• Pricing is extremely expensive
• Functionality is limited
• Platform support isn’t keeping pace with recent releases
• Mature or discontinued without new features
• Complicated to understand/difficult to retain knowledgeable staff
• New version installation (software upgrade) is required
• Unsupported on current or new hardware
• Supplier is not vendor-approved and sold by HPE

Easily Migrate to HPE Shadowbase Solutions

Methods for risk-free, successful migrations

Fortunately, by design, HPE Shadowbase software offers several proven:

• methods,
• approaches,
• and techniques to meet an enterprise’s requirements.

Migrating from an existing data replication product (or Shadowbase version) to Shadowbase solutions can be undertaken while completely avoiding the risks associated with application service outage and data loss.

Perform the migration without taking either the application or database offline

This method improves availability over other methods that do require an outage and eliminates the inherent risk normally associated with this type of change.

Related Content

Publications: Switching Replication Engines with Zero Downtime and Less Risk

Two-node Approach

Version independence (production/standby)

Version Independence completely avoids inter-operating between different software products or versions. This scalable method works well for companies with only two systems available using proof and verification steps for the migration, where the migration can occur over time and encompass an unlimited number of files and tables. This solution works well for production environments with limited resources — a production system and typically the standby system (assuming the environment has a disaster recovery solution in place).

Three-node Approach

Leveraging a spare system (production/standby with a spare system)

A better solution exists for environments with three nodes. This solution keeps the upgrade tasks, including the proof and verification steps, independent from the production environment until much later in the migration process.

Using this approach, the old disaster recovery standby (DRS) system is always available for production failover with the original configuration and working database while the new environment is built, tested, and prepared for the cutover.

Four-node Approach

Platform refresh (original and new production/standby)

In a four-node or platform refresh approach, an entirely new production and DRS configuration can be deployed and tested without impact to the existing production/standby environment.

This solution is more complex to initially set up and configure, but it offers:

• the least amount of impact to existing production,
• more isolation and far less risk than the other approaches,
• and only affects the production system very late in the migration process (at the actual point of cutover).

Note: Each of these approaches can be used with uni-directional and bi-directional replication environments.

HPE Shadowbase Software

The preferred solution with many benefits

• HPE’s strategic go-forward data replication solution
• Provides zero downtime migrations, including “platform refreshes”
• Performs successful deployments at thousands of worldwide mission-critical application environments
• Fully supports Enscribe, SQL/MP, SQL/MX, NonStop X (x86), and virtualized HPE NonStop platforms
• Supports Expand and TCP/IP connectivity
• Easy ordering process within normal HPE software licensing channels
• Favorable comparison pricing to other solutions, and “we are easy to do business with”
• Outstanding global support provided 24×7 by HPE GNSC or HPE’s regional reseller/system integrator
• Expert Professional Services provided by HPE or its regional reseller/system integrator
• Competing solutions may be bundled into an “enterprise-wide” license
  • However, watch for an “annual audit” and backward/forward charges for usage, and have the vendor unbundle the license
• Perform an HPE Shadowbase Proof-of-Concept/Trial to move the project forward
  • Seeing is believing

HPE Remote Database Facility (RDF) Migrations

IT teams with HPE RDF should plan to migrate to HPE Shadowbase Solutions. RDF was matured by HPE (October 2018), which means that for now the product is still supported; however, it will not be enhanced (no new additional functionality).