Global Site Backup Overview

The Webex Global Site Backup (GSB) system ensures that you experience business continuation even in a disaster situation. Additional benefits include full redundancy for maintenance windows or other system outages. GSB provides each customer with a backup Webex site. The GSB system provides real-time, two-way database data synchronization between the primary site and the backup site. All customers are supported with GSB.

A Webex backup site is a separate site from the primary site. Webex hosts the backup site on a different system and at a separate geographic location from the primary site.

Automatic Redirection

The GSB system automatically redirects you to your backup site in the event of the entire meeting system failure. If you started a meeting on your primary site and your primary site fails due to a whole system failure, you’re automatically routed to the same scheduled meeting on your backup site. In case of certain partial system failures, Webex will manually switch your service to the GSB site.

If the primary site fails before a scheduled meeting is started. The scheduled meeting is available on the backup site, since meeting data is synchronized real time between the primary and the backup site. Meetings you scheduled on the backup site are also available when the primary site is back online again.

If the primary site fails because of a whole system failure during a meeting, everyone, including the host and attendees, is disconnected from the meeting. All meeting participants can rejoin the meeting using the primary site URL, and they are automatically routed to the backup site. If the meeting collaboration servers still function, you can continue the meeting on your primary site. However, you can’t start a new meeting on your primary site. You can start a new meeting only on your backup site until the services on your primary site are running again.

You use the same teleconference number on your backup site as on your primary site.

When you start a meeting replicated from your primary site on the backup site, the meeting status (In Progress/Join Now) will also be displayed for the original meeting on the primary site. Attendees can join the meeting started on the backup site from the primary site.

You may access only one site, either the primary site if it’s up, or the backup site in case the primary site is unavailable. The Webex network automatically redirects the meeting requests to the backup site in case the primary meeting system is down.

Your backup site looks exactly that same as your primary site. You can identify which site currently connected to by calling http: // <mycompany>.webex.com/ <mycompany>/detectbackup.php . If the URL reaches the primary site, it returns a "Primary" message. If it reaches the GSB site, it returns a "Backup" message.

Site Backup

With the GSB system, user account and meeting information are synchronized in real time and in two ways between the primary site and the backup site. You may access the meetings on your backup site only when your primary site isn’t available.

User account and meeting information are synchronized in real time and in two ways between the primary site and the backup site. The site branding information is replicated once a day from the primary to the backup site only. Branding updates made on the backup site aren’t available on the primary site.

The GSB replication system replicates all customized pages and client versions from the primary site to the backup site once a day. Customized pages and clients are usually available on the backup site after 24 hours.

Any new data is maintained, regardless of which site it was created:

  • A user account created on the backup site will be replicated to the primary site in real time.

  • When you schedule a meeting on your backup site, that meeting is replicated to your primary site instantly. Any meetings that you schedule on the backup site do appear on your primary site.

  • Webex merges backup site usage with your corresponding primary sites. Reports on your primary site contain both the primary site and backup site usage.

Maintenance

Communication is sent out for any maintenance ahead of time, and the work is done during our standard maintenance windows, 7 p.m. PST to 12 a.m. PST. During this time, we’ll fail-over to the backup site, and then fail-back after the maintenance has been complete, and there shouldn’t be any impact to the availability of the service.

With the GSB system, your site data are synchronized between the primary site and the backup site in real time and in a two-way fashion. If your primary site needs to be updated, Webex performs the updates during the normal maintenance window (7 p.m. PST to 12 a.m. PST). These maintenance updates on the primary site are updated to the backup site instantly.

Developer Support

The XML API is supported on your backup site with GSB. With GSB, there’s no need to modify your integration codes since the primary site and the backup site have the same URL.

Compared with current RUN Site’s support for API customers, the GSB API Support to partners offers many more features. The RUN sites only have user accounts and branding information, while GSB Sites have many more features supported as listed earlier. GSB also provides a way for API users to detect if they are accessing the backup site by calling http: // <mycompany>.webex.com/ <mycompany>/detectbackup.php . If the URL reaches the primary site, it returns a "Primary" message. If it reaches the GSB site, it returns a "Backup" message. RUN Sites didn’t provide any indication of Backup sites.