High-availability mail service for SCD

John Fox, a Software Engineer in SCD's Distributed Services Group, led the project to upgrade the primary mail server for SCD staff with a high-availability system. First he earned certification to apply the new Sun Cluster 3.0 technology by completing a Sun Microsystems training course. Then he worked with Sun engineers to design and configure the system to meet SCD's current and future email needs. The server will soon be ready for production, and John is coordinating the migration of SCD staff to the new system.

The new system achieves high availability through full redundancy in both the server and disk storage hardware. The cluster has dual SUN Netra T1 servers each attached to two disk arrays; all four of these components work together to ensure uninterrupted service. If any component fails, the others continue operating and users perceive no loss of service. This configuration also allows routine software updates and system maintenance to be performed without downtime.

The server will provide IMAP, POP, and SMTP mail service, as well as advanced features like Webmail, server-side message filtering, and remote-access capabilities.

Photo: Brian Bevirt—NCAR/SCD