High Availability
What is it?
Availability is a self-evident concept that is sadly often overlooked by IT managers. Simply put, the equipment in your server room or data center must be online and accessible as much as possible. High availability (HA), then, is a technical term used to describe systems that offer more uptime (or less downtime) than the industry average. High availability is becoming the standard requirement for IT equipment in the digital age, when just about everything is connected to the internet or the IoT.
Availability should factor in the initial planning and budgeting stage. It is often necessary to buy redundant subsystems and components to mitigate risk and minimize downtime, even if it will run up expenses. Single points of failure (SPOF) must be eliminated. You also need to prepare a business continuity plan (BCP) for major outages; the BCP should cover how operations can continue during an outage, how normal operations can resume as soon as possible (sometimes called a disaster recovery plan, DRP), and how business will be affected as a result of the outage (sometimes called a business impact analysis, BIA).
Availability should factor in the initial planning and budgeting stage. It is often necessary to buy redundant subsystems and components to mitigate risk and minimize downtime, even if it will run up expenses. Single points of failure (SPOF) must be eliminated. You also need to prepare a business continuity plan (BCP) for major outages; the BCP should cover how operations can continue during an outage, how normal operations can resume as soon as possible (sometimes called a disaster recovery plan, DRP), and how business will be affected as a result of the outage (sometimes called a business impact analysis, BIA).
Why do you need it?
Since so much of modern life is connected to the IoT, IT equipment should be designed for high availability. In the case of cloud computing, cloud service providers (CSPs) should ensure their services are always available. For important research projects, equipment availability may be the key to achieving world-first scientific breakthroughs. And in the future, when smart city solutions like autonomous vehicles hit the streets, high availability will be necessary to help keep the smart world of the future running along smoothly.
How is GIGABYTE helpful?
GIGABYTE's server solutions offer these features to ensure high availability:
a. Smart Crises Management and Protection (SCMP): SCMP is a GIGABYTE-patented feature that is deployed in servers with non-fully redundant PSU designs. With SCMP, in the event of a faulty PSU or the system overheating, the system will force the CPU to go into ultra-low power mode, which reduces the power load and prevents the system from unexpected shutdowns.
b. Smart Ride Through (SmaRT): To prevent server downtime and data loss as a result of power loss, GIGABYTE has implemented SmaRT in all the server platforms. When a power loss event occurs, the system will throttle while maintaining availability and reducing power load. Capacitors within the power supply can provide power for ten to twenty milliseconds, which is enough time to transition to a backup power source for continued operation.
c. Dual ROM Architecture: In case the ROM that stores the BMC and BIOS fails to boot, the system will reboot with the backup BMC and/or BIOS. Once the primary BMC is updated, the ROM of the backup BMC will automatically update the backup through synchronization. For the BIOS, it can be updated based on user's choice of firmware version.
a. Smart Crises Management and Protection (SCMP): SCMP is a GIGABYTE-patented feature that is deployed in servers with non-fully redundant PSU designs. With SCMP, in the event of a faulty PSU or the system overheating, the system will force the CPU to go into ultra-low power mode, which reduces the power load and prevents the system from unexpected shutdowns.
b. Smart Ride Through (SmaRT): To prevent server downtime and data loss as a result of power loss, GIGABYTE has implemented SmaRT in all the server platforms. When a power loss event occurs, the system will throttle while maintaining availability and reducing power load. Capacitors within the power supply can provide power for ten to twenty milliseconds, which is enough time to transition to a backup power source for continued operation.
c. Dual ROM Architecture: In case the ROM that stores the BMC and BIOS fails to boot, the system will reboot with the backup BMC and/or BIOS. Once the primary BMC is updated, the ROM of the backup BMC will automatically update the backup through synchronization. For the BIOS, it can be updated based on user's choice of firmware version.
WE RECOMMEND
RELATED ARTICLES
Tech Guide
How to Pick the Right Server for AI? Part Two: Memory, Storage, and More
The proliferation of tools and services empowered by artificial intelligence has made the procurement of “AI servers” a priority for organizations big and small. In Part Two of GIGABYTE Technology’s Tech Guide on choosing an AI server, we look at six other vital components besides the CPU and GPU that can transform your server into a supercomputing powerhouse.
Tech Guide
How to Pick the Right Server for AI? Part One: CPU & GPU
With the advent of generative AI and other practical applications of artificial intelligence, the procurement of “AI servers” has become a priority for industries ranging from automotive to healthcare, and for academic and public institutions alike. In GIGABYTE Technology’s latest Tech Guide, we take you step by step through the eight key components of an AI server, starting with the two most important building blocks: CPU and GPU. Picking the right processors will jumpstart your supercomputing platform and expedite your AI-related computing workloads.
AI & AIoT
10 Frequently Asked Questions about Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence. The world is abuzz with its name, yet how much do you know about this exciting new trend that is reshaping our world and history? Fret not, friends; GIGABYTE Technology has got you covered. Here is what you need to know about the ins and outs of AI, presented in 10 bite-sized Q and A’s that are fast to read and easy to digest!
AI & AIoT
How to Benefit from AI in the Automotive & Transportation Industry
If you work in the automotive and transportation industry, spend a few minutes to read our in-depth analysis of how artificial intelligence has created new opportunities in this sector, and what tools you can use to get ahead. This article is part of GIGABYTE Technology’s ongoing “Power of AI” series, which examines the latest AI-related trends, and how intrepid visionaries can reap the benefits of this exciting paradigm shift.
Success Case
Silicon Valley Startup Sushi Cloud Rolls Out Bare-metal Services with GIGABYTE
The Silicon Valley startup Sushi Cloud is competing in the public cloud sector by providing “bare-metal” services that give users exclusive access to individual, standalone servers on the cloud, resulting in a triple boost to performance, versatility, and reliability. Sushi Cloud purchased GIGABYTE’s R152-Z30 Rack Servers to offer its clients the state-of-the-art performance of AMD EPYC™ CPUs; the versatility afforded by superb memory and storage capacities, in addition to OS and software ecosystem compatibility; and GIGABYTE’s proprietary high availability features (such as SCMP and dual ROM) and remote management functions (such as GIGABYTE Management Console and GIGABYTE Server Management).
Success Case
Japanese Telco Leader KDDI Invents Immersion Cooling Small Data Center with GIGABYTE
Japanese telco giant KDDI Corporation has invented a new class of data centers that are mobile and eco-friendly. These “container-type immersion cooling small data centers” employ “single-phase immersion cooling” to reduce power consumption by 43% and lower the PUE below 1.07. GIGABYTE Technology drew from its years of experience in the telco sector to provide the R282-Z93 and R182-Z91 Rack Servers for KDDI to use as the management and GPU computing nodes in the data center. KDDI benefits from the servers’ powerful 3rd Gen AMD EPYC™ CPUs, the scalable, high-density configuration of NVIDIA® GPUs in small form factors, and the servers’ optimized compatibility with the liquid-based data center cooling solution. GIGABYTE’s participation in KDDI’s project is in line with GIGABYTE’s long-term CSR and ESG efforts, which are focused on working with global industry leaders to “Upgrade Your Life” with high tech while building a greener, more sustainable environment for our future.
Success Case
CSR and ESG in Action: GIGABYTE Helps NCKU Train Award-Winning Supercomputing Team
GIGABYTE Technology is not only a leading brand in high-performance server solutions—it is also an active force for good when it comes to CSR and ESG activities. Case in point: in 2020, GIGABYTE provided four G482-Z50 servers to Taiwan’s Cheng Kung University. The servers were used to train a team of talented students, who went on to take first place in that year’s APAC HPC-AI Competition in Singapore. The parallel computing performance of the servers’ processors, the seamless connectivity between the servers, and the servers’ unrivalled reliability are the reasons why GIGABYTE servers are ideal for educating the next generation of supercomputing experts. GIGABYTE is happy to give back to society and contribute to human advancement through high tech solutions.
Tech Guide
Server Processors: The Core of a Server’s Performance
How do server processors work? In which ways are they different from the processors used in personal computers? Which processors should you choose for your servers? GIGABYTE Technology, an industry leader in server solutions that support the most advanced processors, is pleased to present our latest Tech Guide. We will go over the fundamentals of server processors, compare the differences between various types of processors, and then present GIGABYTE products that may help you achieve your goals with the CPUs most suitable for your needs.
