Visara Master Console Center Installation - Manual (Page 26)

Visara Master Console Center
© Visara International 2007 26
Reliability Considerations
Even the most scrupulously designed network can fail. Because of this,
the MCC has been designed to continue running even if communications
are lost to all attached user interfaces. All scheduled scripts and
automated rules will continue to run. However, users may be unable to
interact directly with the consoles controlled by the MCC.
The network design issue of Thin Client / workstation connectivity -
directly connecting any Thin Client / workstation to the MCC server or
using the corporate network - must be carefully considered and resolved.
Using only the corporate network has advantages and disadvantages. One
of the largest advantages is ease of use – the network is already there.
One of the largest disadvantages is stability: service can be easily
disrupted by normal use, such as network traffic overloads or simple
maintenance mistakes.
Using only a dedicated network also has advantages and disadvantages.
One of the largest advantages is isolation – it is difficult for the outside
world to affect it. One of the largest disadvantages is installation - new
wires, new routers, and other additional hardware will be required. In the
end, a combination of using both the corporate network for non critical
stations and the direct connection is usually the best solution.
For fault tolerance considerations, Visara recommends directly connecting
at least one workstation to the MCC network hub. If the corporate
network fails in any way, the dedicated MCC network connection between
the workstation and the MCC network hub is still up, and console access
is fully available with that workstation.