Understanding replication

The term "replication" generally refers to the use of a tool or service, or a combination of tools or services, to automate the process of regularly placing an up-to-date copy of data from a designated source, or primary, to one or more remote locations.

Replication can be used to provide solutions to problems in a variety of application environments. Any application that needs redundancy at multiple sites or can achieve better performance through geographic distribution can benefit from replication. Redundancy at multiple sites, where updates to the primary site are immediately reflected at remote sites, can be effectively used to manage disaster recovery with the use of a replication tool.

Volume Replicator (Volume Replicator) is a data replication service that helps to maintain a consistent copy of the application data at a remote site. It is built to contribute to an effective disaster recovery plan. If the primary data center is destroyed, the application data is readily available at the remote site, and the application can be restarted at the remote site. Volume Replicator works as an integrated component of Storage Foundation. Any application, even with existing data, can be configured to use Volume Replicator transparently. For more information on Volume Replicator, refer to the Volume Replicator Administrator's Guide.