Hi Tracy,

Except for the number of users (around 500 here), our setup looks like yours. I must say that the 3 remote sites came into the computer age only a few years ago. Management did their homework and everything is already on UPS. Now they want to take it a step further and insure that operations continue when trouble occurs either at HQ on between HQ and sites.

Like most replies I got, yours points to clustering. Time to hit the books on the subject.

Thanks for taking the time.



>Hi Benoit,
>Up until 6 months ago, I worked for the government. I was responsible for the network in addition to programming. The overall WAN encompassed 45,000 users. The servers were a mixture of NT4, 2K, and Novell mostly. Some ran SQL Server, some Progress, etc. For the NT/2k servers we chose Compaq systems with hot-swappable RAID drives (configured RAID 1 or 5) and clustering (see Microsoft document on clustering). For Novell, we chose Vinca Standy Server. It was very successful and short of actual cables being cut, great for limiting downtime. We also used Open Server for backing up our SQL servers. Keep in mind that all routers, bridges, switches, etc must also have battery backup/UPS support to continue running during power outages and protect against power surges. Both Novell and Microsoft have a lot of information available on their websites to get you started.
>Good Luck!
>Tracy