All organizations are becoming increasingly reliant upon their computer systems. The availability of those systems can be the difference between the organization succeeding and failing. A commercial organization that fails is out of business with the consequences rippling out to suppliers, customers, and the community.

This series will examine how we can configure our Windows Server 2008 environments to provide the level of availability our organizations need. The topics we cover will comprise:

• The Art of High Availability - What do we mean by high availability? Why do we need it, and how do we achieve it?
• Windows Server 2008 Native Technologies - What does Windows Server 2008 bring to the high-availability game, and how can we best use it?
• Non-Native Options for High Availability - Are there other ways of achieving high availability, and how can we integrate these solutions into our environments?

The first question we need to consider is why we need highly available systems.