Disaster Recovery System Mirror Image Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current testing methods for high-availability computer systems, such as disaster recovery systems, face challenges in simulating the complexity of production environments, leading to potential issues with defect detection and performance bottlenecks, as development systems cannot replicate the scale and complexity of production environments effectively, and direct testing in production environments is disruptive and risky.
Innovation Solution
Configuring a disaster recovery computer system as a mirror image of the production environment for stress and load testing, using data mirroring technologies like IBM Metro Mirror and IBM Global Mirror to create a tertiary copy of production data for testing, while isolating the test environment from production and backup systems to prevent disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If testing is performed on a separate development system, then production environment performance is maintained, but testing cannot reveal issues that appear upon full integration into the production environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a copy of the production environment by utilizing the disaster recovery system, which maintains a replicated copy of production data and configuration. This copy can be used for testing while the production system continues to operate normally, allowing comprehensive testing without consuming production resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The disaster recovery system serves multiple functions: it acts as both a backup system for production data and a test environment for validating changes. This multi-functionality allows the same infrastructure to support both production operations and testing activities, resolving the contradiction between resource availability and testing comprehensiveness.
2Manufacturing precision
If testing is performed using production system resources, then a realistic testing environment is achieved, but production performance is degraded due to processing loads
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the disaster recovery infrastructure into distinct functional areas: a test environment portion that can be independently activated for testing, and a backup portion that remains available for disaster recovery purposes. This segmentation allows testing activities to occur without interfering with production performance while maintaining environment realism.
Solution Approach 2:
The disaster recovery system dynamically switches between different operational states - normally serving as a quiet backup, and temporarily activating the test environment when testing is required. This dynamic capability allows the system to provide realistic testing conditions only when needed, preserving production performance during normal operations.
3Productivity
If the disaster recovery system is used for testing, then idle resources are utilized for comprehensive testing, but the test environment must be isolated to prevent disruptions to production and backup systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary layer between the test environment and the production/backup systems. This intermediary manages data access and system interactions, allowing comprehensive testing while preventing disruptions to production and backup operations through controlled isolation mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an aspect, a computer-implemented method includes configuring a disaster recovery computer system as a test environment of a mainframe computer system as a mirror image of a production environment, where the disaster recovery computer system is a backup of a primary production computer system. Test cases are executed in the test environment of the disaster recovery computer system. A stress and load impacts can be monitored on a plurality of computer system resources of the disaster recovery computer system based on execution of the test cases. The test environment can be disabled, and the disaster recovery computer system can be reconfigured as a production system based on a failure of the primary production computer system.