Choosing BCS Recovery Method

After a Business Continuity Service (BCS) failover, there is a point when the systems need to be recovered to normal operation. There are two different approaches:

  • Convert Secondary to Primary- The simplest solution is to leave the Secondary Wave in place and convert it to be the Primary. The original Primary system becomes the new Secondary in this model. This method eliminates the outage time for the restore process. The Secondary continues to function as the Wave IP for the entire process. This method is the preferred solution. It should be used:
    • When there is no acceptable time for a service outage.
    • When both Primary and Secondary are in the same physical location.
    • When most phones are remote from Primary and Secondary.

To use this method see Recover BCS- Keeping Secondary System Active.

  • Restore Primary- If it is critical to restore the original Primary Wave IP to service as the Primary, the process will require a small service outage. It is much more complex with many more steps than the first option. This method should be used:
    • When the Secondary is geographically separated from most of the phones.
    • When the Secondary's location causes ongoing bandwidth concerns for normal operation.
    • When the ITSP requires service to normally run on the original Primary Wave IP. This might be due to location reasons or contractual.

To use this method see Recover BCS- Restoring Primary to Service.

When possible, choose the first method.