Server switchover options

When a redundant server pair is set to this option, the system does not automatically switch from an active secondary server when the primary becomes ready. Instead, clients remain connected to the active server until the server is manually switched or until the active server fails.

The health monitoring service decides which server is the active one by determining which is servicing more client computers. Some computers may be using a data server behind the scenes, without displaying data to users. In this situation, the health monitoring service is aware of these clients, and may consider the primary server to be the active one, when the primary server is reconnected. This behavior can seem unexpected, because you cannot see and may not be aware of these clients.

Choose this option to minimize server switches if experiencing frequent network interruptions or to manually control the switch from the active to the standby server. Choose this option to perform troubleshooting or maintenance tasks on a primary server before it becomes active.

When a redundant server pair is set to this option, clients switch over from a secondary server to the primary server as soon as the primary server becomes available again. The primary server is always considered to be the preferred server and always becomes active as soon as it is ready. Manual control over switches between active and standby servers is not available with this option.

Choose this option if there are few network interruptions, if manual control is not needed, or if using the secondary server as a backup only in case of emergencies.