Remote Replica

Remote Replica lets you duplicate your Fresh Start Desktop onto a separate server, typically in a different location. After initial configuration, all modifications made to your system are quietly and automatically mirrored to the replica in the background with no further user action needed.

Remote Replica is an incredibly handy feature with several applications; we'll highlight two common scenarios here.

Note: At present, Remote Replica works exclusively with Fresh Start machines, though it can also be employed within DaDesktop for work (DD4W).

 

First: Create a Remote Replica (clone) of Your Desktop on a Server in a Different Data Center

For added security, you might set up a Remote Replica of your desktop on a server in another data center, as a safeguard if the primary server becomes unreachable for any reason. Should that happen, you can simply switch to the replica copy and pick up right where you left off.

By default, our Fresh Start machine resides in the UK data center (e.g., bd3uk).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pick the data centre you'd like for your Remote Replica—ideally different from your current machine. You may opt for a different data centre or even another country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Remote Replica desktop is now being provisioned. The creation time depends on the replica's location and the desktop's size. You can keep using your original machine during this process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restoring Remote Replica

If for any reason you're unable to reach your FreshStart Desktop, you can restore the Remote Replica that has been configured.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you've switched to the Remote Replica, you cannot return to the original desktop. That's fine, because it's an exact clone anyway.

Bear in mind that once you've moved to the Remote Replica desktop, replication stops. To create another replica, you'll need to go through the same initial steps again to set up a new replica desktop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second scenario: Using a Replica for FreshStart in a Different Geographic Region to Lower Connection Latency

 

Remote Replica proves especially valuable when you're building course content on a Fresh Start machine and need a replica located closer to you geographically. For instance, a trainer based in Germany might be delivering a course in South Africa. This situation is fairly common with DaDesktop, which simplifies handling geographically distributed courses.

In such a case, you wouldn't want to create the course's Fresh Start desktop on a South African server, as that would introduce high connection latency. Instead, you can create a Remote Replica of your desktop in Europe to minimise latency. The replica stays synchronised with all your edits.

Once you finish your work on the Fresh Start desktop, restore the Remote Replica onto the trainer machine in South Africa for rapid copying to both the trainer machine and participants.