Maintaining a Live MCS Backup Server

MCS is intentionally designed to be recoverable directly from a copy of the production MCS root install directory. To create a usable backup of an production MCS install can be achieved by following the steps below.

Copy MCS root directory

Copy the entire live production MCS root install directory to a designated backup directory or server. To maintain a formal recovery process it is recommended that this step is repeated on a regular interval basis such as hourly, daily, or weekly. The more frequent the backup interval, the more up-to-date the backup MCS service.

Enable the backup MCS install

MCS can be easily started from its backup directory the methods below for the individual platforms:

Linux: Run the start_mcs.sh script

Windows: Double-click or run mcsserver.exe

Running as System Service: To enable MCS as a system service, over-install the MCS backup directory with the latest MCS application. Note the MCS over-install process needs to be run only once unless an update to a newer MCS version is made available. This over-install can be for the same MCS version or a later MCS version unless otherwise indicated in the MCS release notes. Running the MCS install process will automatically start the MCS service.

Assign DNS name

As a best practice, the live MCS DNS name should be changed to point to the MCS backup service IP address. Alternatively establishing a backup MCS DNS name can be used, for example live.myconnection.com and backup.myconnection.com. Having two separate domains will provide faster access MCS testing services and also provide a more convenient way to validate and test MCS backup services on a regular basis.

Apply MCS License

The recovered backup MCS requires the production MCS license to be applied to the backup MCS server. The production license key can be requested from MCS Support if the original license key is not recoverable.