XMediusFAX Deployment Options
XMediusFAX offers 5 deployment models that provide companies with low-risk, incremental, deployment options.
- Single-Server Model
- Independent, Redundant Servers Model
- Dual, XMediusFAX SP Edition Servers for High Availability (HA) Model
- Tri-Server, High Availability / Disaster Recovery (HA / DR) Model
- Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) Model
1. Single-Server Model
Remember even with a single-server XMediusFAX system, you can install multiple instances of Fax Processing Components to provide redundancy or dedicated processing capability.
2. Independent, Redundant Servers Model
In this deployment model, the XMediusFAX server at Headquarters and the server at the Regional office were configured independently and are managed separately. However the two servers are setup to function as Proxies of one another with Sites (tenants), fax histories and fax images from Headquarters being replicated to the Regional server and vice versa. To support this model, one of the two servers must be running XMediusFAX SP Edition software. The other server can be running Enterprise Edition or Express Edition software.
3. Dual, SP Edition Servers High-Availability Model
In this model, two Service Provider Edition servers running on a LAN are replicating in real-time API calls, configuration settings, fax images and fax histories. Core XMediusFAX services are running on each server in either a Primary State or a Backup State and the Fax Processing Components (FPC's) of both servers are actively processing faxes. Outbound faxes may be transmitting out of Server #1 while inbound faxes are being received on Server #2. Once the transmission is completed and the fax archived, the fax image and fax history are immediately replicated to the other server.
To provide telecom redundancy, we typically integrate XMediusFAX with multiple voice gateways. In the event a gateway fails or is unavailable, XMediusFAX automatically routes all outbound faxes out of the surviving gateways. In addition, you can configure rules that instruct XMediusFAX to send faxes via specific gateways. For example, all outbound faxes sent from users in the Chicago office can be routed out of the voice gateways dedicated to Chicago, all faxes sent by users out of Denver can be routed out of the voice gateways dedicated to Denver, etc.
In addition to managing outbound fax call flow, XMediusFAX allows companies to load-balance fax traffic between SP Edition servers. In the screenshot below the Fax Driver on the XMFSP1 server and XMFSP2 server is configured to run 23 fax channels (Preferred) with a Maximum of 46 fax channels. If either server ever fails, its 23 fax channels automatically activate on the other XMediusFAX SP server so there is no loss of fax processing capacity. The surviving server will process 46 faxes at once. When the failed server comes back online, the surviving server automatically releases the 23 fax channels so that both servers are once again processing 23 faxes at once.
4. Tri-Server, High-Availability / Disaster Recovery Model
In this XMediusFAX deployment model, a company is running a dual-server, SP Edition system in its Primary Data Center and there is a third, SP Edition system installed in the Backup Data Center. The Primary system is doing a continuous background replication of configuration settings, fax transmission histories and fax images to the Backup system. In the event of a catastrophic failure of the Primary Data Center, the XMediusFAX system in the Backup Data Center mirrors the Primary system and is fully ready to go. Most companies license fewer fax channels on the third server then they do on their active Production systems since the Backup Server is only intended to be used during temporary emergencies.
5. Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST) Model
Remember XMediusFAX is the only fax software certified by Cisco to run on a Cisco Integrated Services Router (ISR). In Figure 1, Headquarters is running a single SP Edition XMediusFAX server. In the Regional and District offices
XMediusFAX AXP Edition is installed on a Cisco ISR. All inbound and outbound faxes for Headquarters, Regional and District are being processed by the XMediusFAX SP server at Headquarters.
Figure 1
In Figure 2, the company suffers a WAN outage. All inbound faxes destined for the Regional and District offices continue to be received by the XMediusFAX SP Edition server at Headquarters. Because the Cisco ISR's are aware of the outage, they direct all outbound faxes from the Regional office and the District office to the XMediusFAX AXP system running on the local Cisco ISR.
Figure 2
As shown in Figure 3, when the WAN outage is restored, inbound faxes intended for the Regional and District offices that have been received on the SP Edition system at Headquarters are delivered via e-mail, archived to a folder residing within the Regional or District office, printed out on a network printer in the Regional or District office, etc. Outbound faxes originated at the Regional and District offices are once again processed by the SP Edition system in Headquarters.
Figure 3
As shown in Figure 4, after the WAN connection is restored, the SP Edition server will initiate a bi-directional replication with the two AXP Edition systems running on the Cisco ISRs if it is configured to do so. Fax images and fax transmission histories of inbound faxes received by the SP Edition system when the WAN was down will be replicated to the respective AXP Edition systems. Fax images and fax transmission history data of outbound faxes sent from the AXP Edition systems when the WAN was down will be replicated to the SP Edition system.
Figure 4
These graphics are intended to provide a general understanding of the XMediusFAX deployment models. If you need technical specifics, or have questions about which model would best meet your needs, please contact us.
One Software Codebase Eliminates Risk
All editions of XMediusFAX software share the same codebase. This virtually eliminates the inherent risks anytime you enhance, expand or upgrade an existing software application.
In-Place Edition Upgrade
To upgrade an existing XMediusFAX server from one edition of software to another, you simply activate a new license file, re-start all XMediusFAX services and then configure the newly available features.
To Add a 2nd SP Edition Server to an Existing SP Server
To create a dual-server, High-Availability system, you activate a new license file which contains the MAC address of both servers on the existing XMediusFAX server. Next you install XMediusFAX on the second server, choose the Add to an Existing System option and select the existing server. When the installation is completed, the first server will automatically begin replicating its Site configurations, fax transmission history data and fax images to the second server so that both servers are completely synchronized.
