In our last blog, we talked about backups and storing data on site and off site. One of the reasons for backing up your practice’s data is so that you never lose it; it’s the backbone of your practice. There is however a difference between never losing data, and having data always available. Not all backup systems are created equal! One type of backup gaining in popularity for hospitals and data centers is High Availability (HA) or an Always-on system. 

Hospitals are increasingly relying on these types of systems, for the following reasons: 

• Constant access to data (like medical records and images) 

• Allows for planned and unplanned system maintenance and upgrades

• Security and HIPAA compliance

Large organizations with IT professionals can design a backup system to be a High Availability (HA) system. The exciting thing is that now, there are some easy to use and scaled down versions for small businesses, specifically the dental industry. Just because you don't have a multi million dollar IT budget, doesn't mean you shouldn't get the latest in technological advancements!

Not all HA systems are architected, or laid out the same. Using an HA cluster from Synology, allowed us to set up a High Availability system quickly. While testing the system, we were able to simulate an issue with one node, and found that the second node took over in just a few seconds, completing the action in under 1 minutes. The system alerted us that the primary node was down, and that it’s running on backup. We could then fix the system at our convenience. The server remained on and available through the entire process. No interruption in availability of data!

Think about what that could mean for your dental practice. How would you operate for a day or two without practice management software? You don't need a hospital-sized budget for an HA system. Schedule a time to see how our High Availability, Always-on system architecture can work in your office.