Etere Secures ABS-CBN's Multiple Disaster Recovery

This paper explains the disaster recovery expansion that ABS-CBN has commissioned with Etere on board once again as a system integrator.

About ABS-CBN
Founded in 1946, ABS-CBN (Alto Broadcasting System-Chronicle Broadcasting Network) Corporation is the largest entertainment and media enterprise in the Philippines. It is a part of the Lopez Group and was formed in 1967 as a result of the merger between Alto Broadcasting System and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network. In June of 2002, ABS-CBN Global decided to expand its business abroad, with broadcasts targeting the Filipino communities in the USA, Australia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Europe. ABS-CBN’s operative broadcast complex is located in Manila, at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation Technical Operations Centre.

History
ABS-CBN (and its subsidiaries) has been managing its broadcast with Etere solutions, since it chose Etere Automation to manage their tapeless workflow and schedule, after making a decision to modernise their broadcast installation in 2003. Etere connects all departments under a single cloud framework with modules that are highly scaleable, integrative and flexible. Each time there is an expansion in ABS-CBN; Etere is consistently chosen as a top choice to streamline the broadcaster’s workflow and to drive its fully tapeless workflows.

The Challenge
ABS-CBN needed multiple redundancies to ensure 100% broadcast continuity in the event of emergencies such as fire, power outages as well as natural disasters such as earthquakes.

Solution: Etere Multiple Disaster Recovery System
ABS-CBN takes on a multi-level disaster recovery approach to ensure uninterrupted broadcast and business continuity in the event of all kinds of emergencies. Etere proposed a reliable, cost-efficient and customized solution that provides both logical and physical redundancies. ABS-CBN comprises multiple disaster recovery systems with a main site in manila that handles 35 channels’ playout. Taking into consideration the earthquake occurrences in Manila, ABS-CBN and Etere developed a disaster recovery policy that prevents broadcast disruptions, including mitigating risks of interruptions in the event of earthquakes.

Main DR Site in Manila, Philippines
A Disaster Recovery site installed with Etere Disaster Recovery was set up in the main ABS-CBN office in Manila, Philippines and it manages 35 channels playout.

Second DR Site in Manila, Philippines
Etere also installed a second disaster recovery site in Manila for ABS-CBN that serves as a physical redundancy, safeguarding the data duplication process against unexpected disruptions such as fire, flooding and power outages. This second site replicates all channel playlists and ABS-CBN is able to continue operations in the event of disruptions such as fire, flooding and power outages.

Third DR Site in Cebu, Philippines
However, this is insufficient for the main channels of ABS-CBN. Thus, a third disaster recovery site was installed with Etere Disaster Recovery in Cebu, Philippines for 2 main ABS-CBN channels. This site contains a copy of the playlist for the 2 main channels. Using Etere Disaster Recovery, the playlist are synchronized every 5 minutes to ensure perfect alignment of any schedule modifications at all time. Alternatively, the synchronization settings can also be manually set to on demand. Etere EDT protocol is used for faster file duplications. All disaster recovery sites for ABS CBN are managed with Etere MTX and ETX playout, which feature distributed architectures for a fault-resilient performance.

Etere Disaster Recovery is an application that was created to mitigate any possible consequences due to any error or technical problem that could occur on the main installation. In the event of a disruption to the mains servers, Etere Disaster Recovery automatically prevents broadcast disruptions and loss of data by putting into operation its backup system, as a replacement of the malfunctioned system. When both the Disaster Recovery and On-Air automation are configured to match, Disaster Recovery Automation will be perfectly aligned to the On-Air Automation to substitute the crashed automation and to ensure a seamless transmission in the event of a service disruption such as fire, flooding and power outages. Etere Disaster Recovery is a reliable system tool that safeguards the database and automation servers against temporary data loss and broadcast disruptions.
■ Capability to set a recovery database (mirrored to the main one) as a primary database
■ Capability to activate the service broker on the recovery database, if required
■ Copy scheduling playlists from one station to another
■ Automatic activation in the event of a system failure
■ Protection against both physical and logical redundancy
■ Cost-effective solution without the need for complex systems
■ Capable of substituting the crashed automation and to continue the transmission
■ Quick response and synchronization time
■ Fully customizable to fit environments of any size
■ Controlled access and parameters

Key Benefits
■ Etere Disaster Recovery system for ABS-CBN provides end-to-end coverage and ensures complete business continuity in the event of all types of emergencies including both physical and logical disruptions
■ Disaster Recovery features 100% readiness with automated duplication and synchronization of the main SQL servers every 5 minutes
■ Etere Disaster Recovery equips users with remote control of both source and destination automation
■ Etere Ecosystem framework with an integrated data network that keeps all resources connected and ensures real-time updates and synchronization across all departments
■ Customizable source path and destination path
■ Automatic activation in the event of system failures
■ Cost-efficient solution