Backup/Remote server

I want to set up a backup server so when the primary is unavailable, the secondary will automatically receive requests. This secondary server will be off-site with a different IP.

This is possible, right?

Thanks,
Jake

Hi,
Yes, it is definately possible.

However, I'd like to tell you that the term backup nameserver is a bit misleading. The way it works is:
Client randomly picks up a name-server from all the listed name-servers.

Primary,Secondary(Master,Slave) are treated with the same priority. So, even if your primary server is available - your secondary server will receive requests.

Thanks

Sorry, I was a bit unclear in my question.

I have a WEB server set up and am trying to find the best way for disaster recovery. But before I configure an offsite server and play w/DNS settings, I wanted to have some guidance.

I don't want load-sharing or anything fancy. I just want to keep the site online in the cheapest way possible.

Thanks for the quick response by the way.

Jake

One solution would be to publish the A records for your domain with low TTL's (around 1 hour) so that they are only cached for that long.

In the event of a disaster with the first machine, you can change the A record to the IP of the backup machine, and the change will propagate across the internet in an hour's time (in theory - unfortunately there are a lot of broken caches on the internet).

This assumes, of course, that your DNS servers are still available in the event of a disaster. The easyDNS service has four nameservers in three different countries to maximise DNS server availability. They've been up 99% (apart from a DoS attack that took place earlier this year), which is pretty impressive.