Applies to: WAVE

Summary

Failover is a feature in WAVE that allows servers to automatically recover cameras to a merged server during a power failure or network disruption. To use this feature, Failover must first be enabled on each individual server. Once activated, the Failover process takes approximately 1 minute. This article provides the instructions for using the Failover feature after experiencing a power failure or network disruption.

Using the Failover Feature

Automatic Camera Failover

To enable automatic camera failover:

1. Open WAVE Client.
    
2. From the resource tree on the left, right-click your server name and select Server Settings.
    
3. Turn the Failover toggle to ON.
    
4. Enter the Max cameras on this server (128 maximum on Core i3 or above CPUs, 12 maximum on ARM CPUs).
   
   
    

5. Repeat the steps above for each server to add additional Failover servers in the same system. 

   NOTE: In newer versions of WAVE, there is a Server Location ID field. By 
   default, this value is set to 0 for all servers with failover enabled. 
   Servers that share the same Location ID can failover to each other, but 
   not to servers with different Location IDs. This ensures that failover 
   occurs only between suitable servers.
   
   Example: If servers A, B, and C are located in one building and servers 
   D, E, and F are in another building connected via the campus network, 
   A, B, and C would be assigned Location ID 0, while D, E, and F would be 
   assigned Location ID 1. If Server F goes offline, its cameras will only 
   failover to D and E (up to their capacity). This approach prevents the 
   campus network from becoming overloaded with camera traffic between the 
   two buildings.

   NOTE: In a failover environment, two or more servers must be merged and 
   each server will need enough payload to also handle the failed cameras 
   since a WAVE server takes a maximum load of 128 cameras. 
   
   In this case, adding more servers to a merged system or to the hive will
   reserve more space for failed cameras on each server. The archived playback
   will remain seamless but there may be a 30-second gap in recording during 
   the transfer.
   
   To be able to do failover, both servers should be able to access devices.

Failover Priority

To set up Failover priority:

1. While in the Server Settings dialog, click Failover Priority.
   
   
    
2. Assign a value of High, Medium, or Low priority to a specific camera.
   
   
   
   
   High – These cameras will be failed over first.
   
   Medium and Low – These cameras will be failed over only if there is a server to host them.
   
   Never – These cameras will not be failed over.
    
3. Repeat the above steps for all cameras that should be prioritized.