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I'm a SysAdmin in one of the construction sites in a remote place. There is no reasonable internet speed can be reached there except a poor 3G/4G signal coverage which provide the users with non-stable average speed of 1 Mbps.

We have a web-based internal system and um wondering if I can use the high availability (Clustering) solution to make that system available offline (locally) to all the users in case the internet can't handle it. Then, give the whole bandwidth to the router to sync the content with the main server which is located in another country.

Hint: I'm imagining the same idea like Active Directory Replication.

Also, What about the content engine? is it the same idea like HA or gives more advantages?

ViajanDee
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  • This is all completely dependent on the type of system and content you have. If it is mostly static files, this will be easy but it can get complicate quite fast if the system is more complex and involves updating data and syncing it back. – Sven Aug 31 '14 at 22:34
  • @SvW actually it is a procurement system to make a purchase orders and get the approval by the site management. It is all can be done internally but the changes should be sync to the main server even with a delay. – ViajanDee Aug 31 '14 at 22:49
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    You'll have to discuss with the vendor of this system what is possible in your situation. We don't know how it operates and how it is tied into other systems at your company, so it's impossible to make recommendations. – Sven Aug 31 '14 at 22:55
  • IMO you'd be better off getting a high gain 3G/4G antenna, positioning it wherever the best coverage is and setting up a local WiFi network. Would probably be cheaper, more reliable and work better. – thexacre Sep 01 '14 at 00:21
  • Is your application hosted in a stable location? Is your concern that you need to be able to access it despite your unstable connectivity? – ewwhite Sep 01 '14 at 00:22
  • The main problem is our site is based inside a military air base and such antennas are highly restricted. – ViajanDee Sep 01 '14 at 00:23
  • But what are you connecting to? – ewwhite Sep 01 '14 at 00:24
  • Yes, it is in a stable location with a high speed internet connection. I just want to make it available locally to my site users and let the server to sync whenever it is available because we don't need any reaction from outside the LAN network, just to update the entire system which can be delayed. The high availability or the content engine will be a clone server of the main web-based system server. – ViajanDee Sep 01 '14 at 00:28
  • 3G/4G unstable and poor coverage which i can connect like 4 USB modems to a load balance router (can generate a sum of 3Mbps) and give the bandwidth to the router VPN-Tunnel to sync instead of consuming the whole bandwidth on 40 users to access the website itself. – ViajanDee Sep 01 '14 at 00:31
  • 1 Mbps sounds like 3G. Even a bad 4G connection would give you better than that. – Michael Hampton Sep 03 '14 at 15:59

2 Answers2

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The sort of thing you're asking for has to be already built into an application, can't be bolted on after the fact. Talk to your vendor about the issue, and talk to your IT department about (not) deploying an application that your infrastructure can't really support.

mfinni
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  • Unfortunately, it is a compulsory system to replace an old one. It has been applied to all the company sites but I have a problems to connect to the internet in my site due to the coverage and the restrictions of the military air base which our site based in. – ViajanDee Sep 01 '14 at 00:47
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My usual solution for something like this is to leverage multiple and diverse internet connections through the use of a link balancer (I prefer Elfiq). Your resiliency and susceptibility to internet outages improves considerably with this approach. Since you're connecting to a host in a stabile facility and don't seem to have inbound needs, this is probably the path of least resistance. This also allows you to aggregate bandwidth across your users and connections.

ewwhite
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  • Thank you so much @ewwhite. Actually, that what um thinking about but I need it to be more effective by reserving this bandwidth for sync with the main server through VPN-Tunnel if the content engine solution is applicable. – ViajanDee Sep 01 '14 at 00:42
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    That may not be possible to change the application. If it's a stateless web-based system, get some diverse internet connectivity in to your location. 3G/4G, Fixed-wireless (microwave), DSL, cable, T1, fiber... whatever is available. Pool them and keep everyone happy. – ewwhite Sep 01 '14 at 00:47
  • I MADE IT .. Cheers :) Actually it was not that easy. I had to go over a container in the constructions site which is 300+ meters away from my server room and set my devices because I found a good coverage there where I never thought about checking before. Of course I had to put a multiple switches on the way to not lose the signal. I got 4 Mbps stable speed and up to 12 Mbps in the best conditions. – ViajanDee Sep 04 '14 at 14:47
  • Finally, I can fire up my services like VoIP, FTP, etc. I called my devices set a TERMINATOR lolz and it contains the following: Huawei E1820 3G USB Modem x4 TP-Link TL-MR3420 3G/4G wireless N Router x4 TP-Link TL-R480T+ Load Balance Broadband Router x1 It is all working perfectly and everybody happy :) I really thank all of you guys and appreciate your effort to reply my question Cheers ;) – ViajanDee Sep 05 '14 at 04:21
  • I made it .. cheers :) Huawei E1820 3G USB Modem x4 // TP-Link TL-MR3420 3G/4G wireless N Router x4 // TP-Link TL-R480T+ Load Balance Broadband Router x1 – ViajanDee Nov 14 '17 at 13:27