Server and Database Information
Server specificationsDuke runs Blackboard 6.3 on three servers. Two front-end application servers run the Apache web server and the Blackboard application in a load-balanced arrangement (Sun Fire V480 running Solaris 9 with 4 900 Mhz processors and 8 GB RAM, Sun 220R running Solaris 9 with 2 450 Mhz processors and 2 GB RAM). The Virtual Classroom (chat) application runs on one of the two application servers (V480). A third server hosts the Blackboard database (Sun Fire V480 running Solaris 9 and Oracle 9i, with 4 900 Mhz processors and 8 GB RAM). The database server is connected to a large disk array (Shark) for database and flat file storage.
Database backup strategy
Duke maintains a standby copy of the Blackboard database that is updated hourly. The database undergoes a "hot" backup each morning at approximately 3 a.m.