Hot Standby
Hot Standby is a high-availability database configuration where a secondary server (standby) is kept in a continuously updated, ready-to-take-over state while the primary server is active. It allows for near-instantaneous failover with minimal data loss, as the standby server processes transaction logs from the primary in real-time. This setup ensures business continuity by providing a backup system that can quickly assume operations if the primary fails.
Developers should implement Hot Standby in mission-critical applications where downtime is unacceptable, such as financial systems, e-commerce platforms, or healthcare databases. It is essential for disaster recovery scenarios, offering automatic or manual failover capabilities to maintain service availability. Use it when data consistency and rapid recovery (often within seconds) are prioritized over cost, as it requires additional hardware and configuration.