High availability (or HA) is the quality of a system, or part of a system (e.g. a peripheral device), whereby the percentage of time during which it can be used is very high in relation to the total time during which it is in demand.
(Source: OQLF)
Watchdoc’s high availability is based on monitoring the Watchdoc Service and the MS Windows® spooler, as well as on securing the connection between the workstation and the print server, and between the printing device and the print server.
The high availability of WES comprises three different modes*.
Multi-server mode: this mode allows one or more backup servers to be associated with the main print server. These backup servers are thus able to process requests in the event of a failure of the main server. This mode is not compatible with all device models (it works with WES developed in Java). It must be configured in the WES profile installed on the device (see ‘Configuring the WES profile’, section > ‘Failover options’).
Fault-tolerant mode: this mode makes the WES compatible with network equipment that manages load balancing. When configured with the load-balancing equipment, the WES does not have precise knowledge of the print servers.
This feature is enabled by default on compatible WES devices (Java WES). On some of these WES devices, it is possible to disable it.
Offline mode: this mode enables the printing device to operate in a limited capacity should the print servers (primary and backup) fail. In offline mode, printing is not possible, but the device’s other functions, such as photocopying, faxing and scanning, may still be available.
In the event of a server failure, if offline mode is disabled, all the device’s functions will be blocked until the server has been repaired.
This mode is configured in the WES profile installed on the device (see ‘Configuring the WES profile’, section > ‘Failover options’).
* These modes are not compatible with all models. Please visit the ‘Features’ page on your WES to check.