Why Maxava High Availability?

February 27, 2023 Ash Giddings

Software-based logical replication for IBM i remains a popular solution for high availability and disaster recovery due to its ability to adapt over the years to changing environments like co-locations and the cloud. Maxava HA is known for its efficiency and scalability, but what else sets it apart for large enterprises worldwide?

Negligible CPU Consumed On Production Server

The Audit Journal (QAUDJRN) is a valuable tool for protecting the IBM i server with over 70 auditable events. However, in large environments, it can become overwhelmed with hundreds of thousands of entries every minute. Some logical replication solutions heavily rely on reading this journal for high availability, but reading the vast number of events can consume a significant amount of CPU and lead to bottlenecks. This can cause delays in replicating crucial transactions to the target server and potentially leave the business vulnerable.

Maxava has taken a unique approach and does not require any core jobs to be active on the production server reading QAUDJRN. Maxava’s innovative command intercept method minimizes the resource requirement on the source server and performs the majority of the processing on the target, away from the demands of production environments. This approach ensures the transactions are relayed quickly and in their natural order, eliminating the need for re-sequencing on the target system.

Maxava’s efficiency is achieved through the use of a library named MAXSYS, which contains IBM commands for dynamic replication. The MAXSYS library is located above QSYS in the System Library List (QSYSLIBL) and each copied command has its Command Processing Program (CPP) modified to a Maxava version and is tagged with an exit point program to initiate a Maxava HA function before the normal execution of the QSYS command. The Maxava HA action is transparent to applications, and the QSYS command operates normally. Object and data activity are captured and moved from the production server instantly adding next to no overhead to the production server.

Speed And Efficiency Of IFS Replication

Over the years, the Integrated File System (IFS) has become an integral and crucial aspect of the IBM i server. Many Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and homegrown applications rely heavily on the IFS for their operations. Recognizing the importance of the IFS, Maxava have taken a proactive approach and developed a solution that provides both flexibility and efficiency when compared to some other products available in the market.

Unlike some competitive solutions that limit the number of apply sessions tasked with replicating the IFS, Maxava HA has no restrictions, enabling users to run an unlimited number of apply sessions. For many, this results in faster end-to-end replication. Additionally, Maxava HA does not require the use of the IBM i Audit Journal for the replication of the IFS.

Audits And Data Integrity

Ensuring data integrity is always a top priority in high availability solutions – making auditing of data crucial – Maxava HA offers flexible auditing options with three distinct variations being available: existence audits to verify the presence of objects, description audits to check key attributes, and content audits to examine the data within objects. This flexibility extends to the ability to run audits on configurations, libraries, specific objects, object names, and object types, in both fix and reporting modes. For large objects, partial content audits can be performed at the block level, ensuring data is checked and repaired efficiently.

Maxava HA also utilizes the powerful capability of remote journaling to provide before and after images. This feature allows for real-time, in-flight data consistency checking by comparing the before image with the data on the target server prior to update. If any differences are detected, corrective action is initiated by automatically performing a partial audit and checking for any other bad records, fixing only the records that need attention. This results in a more efficient use of resources and ensures consistent synchronization of data.

Method Of Replication

Maxava HA uses an efficient and reliable method for IBM i replication by utilizing the built-in remote journaling feature of the IBM i operating system’s microcode. Unlike some solutions, Maxava chooses to read the remote journal instead of the local journal, which minimizes latency by receiving real-time data automatically relayed by the operating system. The main processing takes place on the target server, away from the production workload, with the support of unlimited apply sessions.

License Flexibility

Maxava is a long-time leader in offering subscription-based pricing, which is now the most common pricing option in the industry. This model allows you to shift from a capital expenditure to a more manageable monthly or yearly operational cost and provides flexibility as your needs change. However, perpetual license and maintenance options are still available for those who prefer a traditional approach to software ownership. For those using Maxava HA for migration, the company offers a short-term licensing model for moving to new on-premise hardware, public cloud instances such as Skytap on Azure or IBM’s Power Virtual Server, or partner clouds.

Global Support

Maxava provides 24/7 customer service and support with a “follow-the-sun” model. It has a team of experienced personnel in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Japan, providing first class local support and quick resolution of customer issues and inquiries.

About Maxava

Maxava is an independent, global provider of high availability and disaster recovery software and services solutions for the IBM i platform, along with innovative cloud-based monitoring for IBM i, AIX, Linux, and Windows.

Ash Giddings is a product manager at Maxava and an IBM Champion 2023.

This content is sponsored by Maxava.

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