redundancy for timeclock system on w2k server 1

[JacobTechy]

I would like to setup another computer that will serve as a backup for our Main Time tracking server application incase it crashes.

The time tracking server application program keeps track of employees labor time. Each employee (clients) clocks in/out thru the TimeClock interface on their own computer. The main time clock server application which has a full sql server database is on a windows 2k server. The clients read the main files from a folder on the server so during the initial client install I have to specify the directory path of these main server files.

example:
//timeserver/timefiles

Initially, I had setup the time tracking server app on a windows xp system but I ran into a folder share limitation which is why I had to migrate the app onto the w2k server OS. We have about 20 computers on our network.

 

[WhoKilledKenny]

depends on the importance of the Application.
It is requied to be up 24/7 or is there a work around should the server or database become unavailable.
If requires High availability look into an MS Cluster solution.
If it can be down a an hour or so, have a cold stand-by. A server that is built exactly like production. If production dies, start up the cold stand-by, put it on the domain with the same name as the production box, and re-store the SQL Database and transaction logs. I would build it as a member server so that you can name it the same as production. It will save you the steps of running stored procedures within SQL. SQL doesn't like it when you change a server name so extra steps are required should you need to make a name change.

 

[JacobTechy]

Yes it can be down for at most 1 hour.

I was thinking about the cold stand by, but that means I will have to buy a server(more money)to allow the amount of file share connections we need, otherwise I would use a regular desktop with win xp. Since I would have to buy a server can you recommend an inexpensive one for this particular purpose.

 

[WhoKilledKenny]

To be honest with you, as a cold stand by, I would buy the exact same hardware as production. This way if you ever had to flip the switch you can still provide the same performance to your clients. Redundancy, of any kind, is never cheap...