A pseudo role swap is definitely not a dream about assuming your boss's job.

Editor's Note: This article is an introduction to the white paper "HA/DR Jargon Buster" available free to download from the MC White Paper Center.

If you think a "backup window" is a pane of glass kept in reserve in case someone pops a fly ball through the fenestra, a "hot site" is a new nightclub that's just opened downtown, or a "pseudo role swap" is your dream about taking over your boss's job, it may be time to consult the official Maxava HA/DR Jargon Buster to brush up on HA/DR nomenclature.

So what is nomenclature exactly? It's a term meaning the set of names used in a particular field. There are hundreds of different terms within the nomenclature used in information technology (IT) and, more specifically, in the disaster recovery (DR) industry. The list is growing constantly. You can be forgiven if you can't keep up with all the new terms driven by constant innovation and development of newer industry models. What's more, the terms are always changing and evolving. "ASP" (application service provider) has been replaced with "cloud," and this in turn has spawned a whole new set of terms such as DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service), RaaS (Recovery as a Service) as well as the more traditional SaaS, or Software as a Service. I could go on, but I won't!

If you want to get current with the latest HA/DR terms, why not visit the MC Press White Paper Center and download the free HA/DR Jargon Buster? See how many terms you know, and maybe find a few acronyms you hadn't heard of yet. Impress your boss by explaining the difference between synchronous and asynchronous protocols. More important, if your IT department is researching disaster recovery and you want to sound like you're at the head of the pack, then get up to speed with the latest DR nomenclature and download this breakthrough document.

To learn more, download the white paper "HA/DR Jargon Buster" available free from the MC White Paper Center.

Simon O’Sullivan is senior vice president of Maxava, the worldwide provider of innovative IBM i high availability and disaster recovery software solutions. He previously worked with IBM for 10 years on international implementation projects in England, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..