Data replication - What it’s not: a mishap when sending an android through the transporter. What it is: a way to save the digital day (big time).

In some respects, data replication can be thought of as a form of insurance. It’s there to protect those valuable digital assets. Thinking back-up? You’re close. But data replication is more than just simple batch back up. It provides continuous data protection, to allow a quick recovery from system outages … whether someone kicked out a power cord or crashed the system …

Andrews University’s Data Warehousing Dictionary defines data replication as:

A set of techniques that provides comprehensive support for copying and transforming data from source to target location in a managed, consistent, repeatable, and well-understood manner.

In other words, data replication copies a chunk ‘o database from one system to the next, while keeping the duplicate copy (or copies) of the data in sync with the original. When the source database is altered, the changes are migrated to the duplicate database(s).

Data replication solutions are available from a host of providers, for desktop as well as server applications. Data replication providers include: EMC, Insession (GoldenGate), LinkPro (IPReplicator and PowerSync), NSI (Double-Take and GeoCluster), Peer Software (PeerSync and Save-N-Sync), RepliWeb (RDS), Sunopsis, XLink (IsaStor), and XOsoft (WANSync).

On the desktop end, Peer Software’s Save-N-Sync Corporate version 3.0 allows you to watch 15 source/target folders with “event-driven real-time synchronization” as well as pre-defined intervals and specific times … all for just $79.

That’s cheap insurance, indeed. :)

Tags: data replication