In cloud computing, high availability and fault tolerance are two critical concepts that ensure that your applications and data are always available and accessible. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they refer to different aspects of cloud computing.
High Availability
High availability is a measure of the system’s ability to remain operational and accessible, even in the event of hardware or software failures. It ensures that your applications and data are always available, even if one or more components of the system fail. High availability is achieved by replicating data and applications across multiple servers or data centers, and by using load balancers to distribute traffic across them.
Fault Tolerance
Fault tolerance, on the other hand, is a measure of the system’s ability to continue operating correctly, even in the presence of hardware or software faults. It ensures that your applications and data are not impacted by hardware or software failures and that the system remains operational and accessible. Fault tolerance is achieved by using redundant components, such as servers, storage devices, and network connections so that if one component fails, another can take its place without any impact on the system.
While high availability and fault tolerance are closely related, they serve different purposes in cloud computing. High availability is focused on ensuring that your applications and data are always available, while fault tolerance is focused on ensuring that your system continues operating correctly, even in the presence of faults or failures.