Fax Server Redundancy – Protecting Your Document Communications

Open Text Fax & Document Distribution Group has posted a new article on Fax Server Redundancy.

Wikipedia defines redundancy as, “the duplication of critical components of a system with the intention of increasing reliability of the system, usually in the case of a backup or fail-safe.”

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundancy_(engineering). Makes sense so far, right? We all know however, that redundant systems can increase overall system availability too, meaning users or processes can run more efficiently. Still for being such a broad topic with many variables, we do see all kinds of monikers used when it comes to this subject: High-availability; load-balancing; fault-tolerant, disaster recovery, and so on. From an abstract perspective all of them are in some way descriptive of redundancy, with the end result real easy to understand: No loss of data and interruptions to your business.

A business interruption can be anything; telephone or internet failures; a corrupt database; a computer virus, a bad disk drive, a failed CPU in the datacenter, or any unplanned system downtime. They can even be as far reaching as a full scale disaster; floods, power outages, hurricanes, or even terror attacks. It goes without saying, but measures must be made to ensure that all mission critical applications are in some way redundant. This could mean anything from a simple backup to a full-blown high available, redundant system. The choice is yours, and the options are plentiful.

Yet, the biggest challenge when considering redundancy for a software application like an enterprise fax server is exactly how much redundancy do you want? After all, Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition has a multi-layered architecture in which various components, databases, or processes can be placed into redundant scenarios that can ensure high uptimes while preserving faxes and data from being lost. This is good. Preserving lost faxes means preserving your business after all.

Getting down to some specifics: When architecting your fax solution to provide maximum uptime it is helpful to understand the difference between fault-tolerance and system redundancy, as both can be addressed differently and have different ramifications to a business that relies on fax. A fault-tolerant system will continue to work if a single fax server component fails. Redundancy on the other hand, allows the entire fax enterprise to continue operating if one major component of that system fails. In a redundant scenario each component of the fax server must be duplicated. Typically it is common to have two fax servers operating in tandem, so that if one server fails the other server will continue to operate.

In practical terms specific to Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition, there are three typical redundant scenarios used:

Load-balancing and Shared Services: This is a scenario in which a fax server shares its database of users, groups, printers, etc. amongst an enterprise of multiple fax servers. Typical with any company having more than one physical location, combined with the advancements made in Fax Server architecture, less fax server resources are now needed at the remote locations, making it easier to build in redundancy while leveraging your company LAN/WAN. In the end, a proper load balancing and shared services scenario will allow Fax Server to literally share its various server services and fax images across a network. In fact, many will say that this is very similar to an active-active cluster, in which shared resources not only ensure backup, but provides processing optimization and single location to administer. Furthermore, Fax Server is optimized for high-availability, in which the database resources are shared such that the application is providing a centralized location for all company users, groups, and other data object, it does not have to be replicated anywhere else. Here’s an example: A fax server in Los Angeles will be “aware” of users located in the New York office because the database is shared. There is no need to have user data replicated across the enterprise. That shared database in L.A. can obviously be placed into a database cluster for redundancy purposes. All in all, taking advantage of Open Text Fax Server’s shared service architecture will boost your system reliability and your business’s ability to run without failure.

A “Cold Spare” Scenario: A cold spare configuration is intended for use in the event of a long-term system shut down, a failure, or any other system interruption that may take more time to repair. Typically this is implemented as two fax servers on two hardware servers (or virtualized) as a primary server and a secondary server. It is important to note that a cold spare is not used in production but is available so that it will expedite recovery. A cold spare system is typically stored in an isolated or remote location and is considered to be “offline”. Its purpose is to be activated in the event of a primary system failure. This is a straightforward approach and offers an affordable way to have a level of redundancy if you can tolerate some manual intervention.

Active-Passive Clustering: Typically, cluster environments protect against an application/service failure, system/hardware failure, site failure and even downtimes due to planned maintenance. In the case of Open Text Fax Server where a primary fax server had a failure, the business would revert to a secondary server to continue fax processing. That is of course, if a second fax server system has been setup to function as a passive “node”. What’s nice about Fax Server’s approach to this is the “node” doesn’t have to be the entire server application. Since Fax Server connects to the telephone system, there is a way to leverage the architecture to realize the benefits of clustering. Using remote Doctransports will allow you to divide up your fax channels between one active node (a.k.a a Open Text Fax Server) and a passive node (a.k.a. a backup copy of Fax Server). You still get the same channel capacity 100% of the time, but in the event of a node failure, those fax channels simply “see” the other node and keep on processing your critical fax documents. Combine this with the shared database and services and you’re now starting to build a high available redundant system unparalleled in efficiency and effectiveness.

Lots of choices and options are available to build a redundant Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition system and keep your business up and running. As stated before, the options are plentiful, no matter what size your company. Be sure to work with a Open Text Fax Server VAR or Partner who can help design a plan that meets your needs.

To learn more about Fax Server, RightFax Edition and devising redundant scenarios to protect your business, download our eBook jointly published with Windows IT Pro.

How To Use Multiple Brooktrout TR1034 In The Same Server

Open Text Fax Server, RightFax will support up to 96 channels of Brooktrout TR1034 (Dialogic) fax cards per server chassis. The cards have a round dial on the top of the board that is set to the number 2 by default. In order for more than one card to function in the same server chassis, each of the round dials should be set to thier own number or module.

The avialble settings are 2 thru F. Module number 0 and 1 are reserved.

New Open Text White Paper

Download a free White Paper

Compliance in the Corporate World: How fax server technology minimizes compliance risks

Maintaining regulatory compliance is a major business issue facing organizations around the world. The need to secure, track, and store information for compliance purposes is critical because the risks of noncompliance are very real. This white paper addresses the area of fax communications and the steps you can take to make your organization compliant.

Get the White Paper Here

Open Text Fax Server, 9.4 Service Release 5 is Now Available

The Open Text Fax and Document Distribution Group is pleased to announce the immediate release of Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition (formerly Captaris RightFax) 9.4 Service Release 5.

The Service Release includes many important software fixes for Fax Server 9.4, fax board drivers, and Fax Server client applications. It is recommended for all customers running Fax Server 9.4.

For a complete list of software fixes, refer to the ReadMe.
Customers with a RightFax Support Plan can download the software and Readme for Service Release 5 from the Open Text Knowledge Center at the URL here.

Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition and Microsoft Exchange 2010

Faxing is important for many businesses that need signatures, drawings, and other paper-based content. Open Text, which specializes in enterprise content management, has large customers worldwide who need rich fax functionality. To help them, Open Text enhanced its fax-processing software to work with Microsoft® Exchange Server 2010, providing a rich feature to augment companies’ unified communications environments.

Business Needs
Open Text is an enterprise software company that helps organizations manage a wide range of content, including electronic and paper business documents, e-mail, digital media such as images and video, and Web content. The company has about 50 million users in 114 countries.

Its main product offering is the Open Text ECM Suite, a modular set of software products. In addition to helping manage corporate content, ECM Suite provides tools to help users collaborate on project and community workspaces, forums, blogs, and wikis. Open Text also offers an e-mail management solution that organizations can use to enforce measured records management controls against e-mail messages originating in the Microsoft® Exchange environment. Another of the company’s solutions is Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition, which integrates fax capabilities into enterprise networks and messaging systems.

“In many of the vertical industries and businesses we serve—such as banking, healthcare, mortgage companies, and patent offices—faxes are still recognized as important legal documents. And they are often required to complete business transactions,” says Raul Camacho, Senior Product Manager for the Open Text Fax and Document Distribution Group. Exchange Server 2010 opens a new partner-based model for fax interoperability with Exchange Unified Messaging. Open Text, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, has a history of providing products with a deep interoperability with Exchange Server and the ability to natively send and receive fax messages from a common interface.

Solution
Open Text worked with Microsoft to develop rich enterprise fax functionality that would integrate with Exchange Server 2010. The company followed a set of technical and business requirements developed by Microsoft for Exchange Server 2010 to ensure that fax capabilities integrate seamlessly and are easy to use and manage.

These features support two kinds of users. First are employees who are accustomed to using unified messaging systems that include fax functions and who have phone numbers set up to receive faxes. The other users are IT administrators who have established policies and procedures for dial plans that work in conjunction with Exchange Server.

Open Text developed the Exchange Connector for Exchange Server 2010, which helps to route faxes into and out of the Exchange Server system using Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition.

When a fax comes into an enterprise, Exchange Server 2010 Unified Messaging forwards it to the Fax Server, which processes the document so it can be transmitted to, and viewed within, Outlook as a native fax message.

After the processing, Fax Server routes the fax through Exchange Server to the recipient’s Outlook Inbox, where it is sent to the user’s Inbox and to the Faxes subfolder. The original fax appears as an e-mail attachment that a user can select and receive an in-window view of the content. Users can also send e-mail messages and attachments to the Fax Server from their Outlook Inbox. Open Text technology then automatically converts the messages and attachments to faxes and sends them to the intended recipients outside the enterprise.

Benefits
By developing and updating its technology solutions to work with Exchange Server 2010, Open Text provides enterprises with continued fax functionality that is vital for particular industries. Integration with Exchange Server 2010 makes faxing a seamless part of the overall enterprise infrastructure, providing a strong return on investment by reducing or eliminating the need for physical fax machines. In addition, fax functionality becomes a part of a larger unified communications infrastructure that people can rely on to receive, view, and send faxes from a variety of devices.

Uninterrupted access to fax functions. The fax solutions that Open Text has developed for Exchange Server 2010 provide enterprises with continued access to network-based fax capabilities. “This fax technology and its integration with Exchange Server 2010 preserve the investment that organizations have already made in their unified messaging systems,” says Camacho.

Protection and compliance. With Open Text Fax Server, RightFax Edition, the fax is digitally protected, helping to prevent loss or unauthorized viewing of documents. The Exchange Connector ensures that a fax is sent to the correct person’s Outlook inbox or to a designated proxy. And it can be encrypted for additional protection if required. The logging and auditing feature provides the ability to review and track all faxes from sender to recipient.

Significant ROI through enterprise integration. The seamless integration of the Open Text fax technology eliminates faxing as a stand-alone feature requiring additional resources to maintain. Key features such as Active Directory® service synchronization and support for Outlook Contact forms provide well-known tools for managing faxes alongside the other unified messaging features. “When customers centralize our fax technology into the enterprise, there are significant returns in cost and labor savings,” says Camacho.

Rich functionality through unified communications. The Open Text fax technology helps to enrich existing unified communications environments. “With Open Text Fax Server functions and Exchange Server 2010, fax capabilities become another seamlessly integrated tool that helps users get their work done,” says Camacho.

For more information about the Open Text Fax Server Connector for Microsoft Exchange 2010, please contact us.

Original article is located here.

FoIP For Your VoIP. Why SIP Fax Needs T.38 - By Doug Olive

I consulted with a large telecommunications company recently who has been providing fax to email conversion service to their 600,000 fax customers for many years. When the company decided to migrate their telo infrastructure from TDM to VoIP, they gained some significant cost savings in overhead but the quality of fax services they were now providing to their users have suffered greatly and customers are not happy.

They told me that when some customers receive faxes into their email from their on premise fax solution, the fax document is sometimes blank, unreadable or missing pages. The worst part of this business challenge is the sending fax party would receive a successful transmission report, even if the fax that was received at the other end was blank. I explained to them, "Unreliable fax communication is a real big deal for many companies, especially if the fax represents business revenue or is tied to a business process". They asked me, "Why is this happening and how do we fix our fax problem"?

I grinned and said, "You need some FoIP for your VoIP". Still confused, they asked me how I could help. I explained that this sort of thing happens all the time with companies of all sizes who are switching from TDM to VoIP. Everyone wants the agility of a VoIP network and the cost savings of SIP trunking delivered over MPLS or Metro Ethernet. But what companies quickly realize is that they have grossly overlooked the technical requirements for fax in a VoIP network.

When you take a G.711 or G.729 fax transmission, encapsulate it into an IP stream and send it thru a couple of different network end points or session boarder controllers, you have to make sure that signal processing and media transcoding can support T.38. Without running T.38 for fax, you are subject to poor fax quality, and unhappy users.

Our solution was to provide this telecommunications carrier with the Ingenium VMware Fax Appliance, powered by Open Text Fax Server (RightFax). Our fax solution uses a boardless T.38 fax codec that supports Error Correction Mode (ECM) for faxing and can be deployed in SIP, H.323 and MGCP environments. We added a Dialogic Multimedia Border Controller (MMBE) between the SIP carrier and our fax solution to provide enhanced security and reliability.

They took advantage of our simple license model which provides licensing from 2 to 60 channels and can run up to 120 ports on a single VMware machine. Other options included native connectors for Microsoft Exchange (2003, 2007 and 2010), Microsoft SharePoint, Barcode Routing, Do Not Fax Rules, Spam Fax Filter, SMS, Fax Reporting and Fax Archiving. We also helped them become compliant with fax so they could meet the compliance standards for PCI DSS and the Sarbanes Oxley Act.

For more information about how Ingenium Software can help solve your company's fax challenges, please contact us.

New Blog comming

Ingenium Software is proud to announce that we are creating new blogs to assist our customers with new and information regard the world of fax.