High Availability PC Based Home Automation

[Rob Iles <rob.iles@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

1st, please don't deride the PC based home automation system - it has to be
taken as a given for this question.

So, people who are running PC-Based Home Automation Systems - - what
lengths
to you go to to ensure it's always available, and how do you implement it?

(I've always relied on a single box running the "core" - and to
be fair,
it's done an excellent job)

A potential client wants/needs a Very High Availability home-automation
solution (with Windows based software at the heart of it)- to the extent
that he's considering purchasing 2 of every controller required (CM11,
RAV232+, Dupline MasterGenerator, Cbus PAC etc etc) - - and connecting them
to separate servers in an active-active or active-passive arrangement.

Dedicated load balancing hardware will/may be placed "in
between".

A Windows Cluster is one possibilty.

2 distinct servers set up with SQL replication is another.


Is anyone already doing this (on Windows)? If so, care to share how you're
doing it?

I'm concerned about duplicate hardware interfaces causing message loops /
duplicating messages etc.

I've lots of experience doing this with dedicated SQL Clusters + SAN, and
with web servers using F5 Big-IP appliances in large-scale corporates, but
never before in the home!

If it helps, the Home Automation software is IP based - so maybe the BIG-IP
could come into play again...

Looking forward to your replies!

Thanks,

Rob

www.domialifestyle.com
www.byebyestandby.com


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