RightFax + etherFAX: Disaster Recovery Run-Book

RightFax + etherFAX: Disaster Recovery Run-Book

Summary

Keep fax services available during outages. Inbound faxes can queue at etherFAX indefinitely until RightFax is restored or rebuilt. Protect SQL first. Use DNS aliases. Keep failover simple and test end-to-end.

Applicability / Versions

RightFax 10.5, 10.6, 16.2, 20.2, 22.2, 23.2, 23.4, 24.2, 24.4.
etherFAX SEN.
VMware, Hyper-V, Azure, AWS, GCP.

Audience

Admins and engineers in healthcare (providers and payers).

Prerequisites

  • BIA with RTO/RPO per workflow

  • SQL HA/DR (FCI or AG) with verified offsite backups

  • Replicated storage for fax images/metadata

  • Validated etherFAX accounts, DIDs, connectivity

  • Monitoring and alerting for RightFax, SQL, storage, certs

Build

1) Targets
Inventory workflows. Set RTO/RPO. Map dependencies to RightFax and etherFAX.

2) Redundancy
Secondary RightFax node or hot image behind a load balancer.
SQL FCI/AG. Replicated file shares. Confirm etherFAX buffering and DID routing.

3) Replication
Protect RightFax DB with AG/FCI. Enable DBCC and checksum.
Replicate fax stores to DR. Quarterly restore test to alternate SQL.

4) Observability
Dashboards: queue depth, retries, channel use.
Alerts: replication lag, cert expiry, disk thresholds, AG health.

Failover Playbook

  1. Declare incident. Freeze changes.

  2. Keep etherFAX receiving. Confirm queue growth rate.

  3. Promote DR SQL per AG/FCI. Validate DB health.

  4. Start DR RightFax. Point to DR SQL.

  5. Flip DNS/LB to DR node. Verify health checks.

  6. Validate send/receive end-to-end and archive.

  7. Notify stakeholders with timings and ETA.

  8. Plan reconciliation and failback.

Failback Playbook

  1. Drain jobs.

  2. Quiesce DR RightFax.

  3. Re-promote primary SQL and storage.

  4. Repoint DNS to primary.

  5. Validate flow. Close incident. File postmortem.

Testing Cadence

  • Monthly: external send/receive

  • Quarterly: tabletop + controlled web-tier failover

  • Semiannual: full DB restore + file-share recovery

  • Annual: full DR with etherFAX buffering verification

Operational Checks

  • Daily: queue depth, retries, channel use, Windows services

  • Weekly: backup success, AG health, replication lag, disk growth

  • Monthly: cert expiry, partner handshakes, DID routing, audit logs

Known Behaviors / Limits

Active-active RightFax is rare and LB-heavy.
etherFAX buffering is durable yet not a reporting system. Monitor it.
Telephony DR is simpler when transport remains in etherFAX.

Storage Sizing Note

RightFax/FaxCore often create multiple artifacts per fax. If you retain originals, PDFs, and thumbnails, budget 3–4× raw image footprint. Verify on your build.

Integration Notes

Point EHR/ECM (Epic, NextGen, OnBase) at DNS aliases. During DR, repoint only the alias. Keep service accounts and secrets documented for both sites.

Source:  

Disaster Recovery Strategies for Using RightFax and etherFAX for Healthcare Providers and Payers (uploaded whitepaper)

    • Related Articles

    • Static IP Address Requirements for RightFax Servers

      Static IP Address Requirements for RightFax Servers Products Affected: RightFax 16.6+, 20.x, 21.x, 22.2, 23.4, 24.4 Applies To: All deployment types (Physical, Virtual, DR environments) Server Roles: RightFax Application Servers, Remote DocTransport ...

    • Installing & configuring the etherFAX Driver for RightFax

      This article covers detailed instructions for installing and configuring the etherFAX driver to use with your RightFax server. etherFAX provides secure, reliable cloud-based faxing without the complexity of traditional telephony. ✅ Prerequisites ...

    • RightFax 20.2 EP2 — Hardware, Software, and Installation Requirements

      Purpose Provide consolidated system requirements and core install steps for RightFax 20.2 EP2. Applicability / Versions RightFax 20.2 EP2 server, web apps, and clients. Mixed 16.x clients or servers interoperate with limited features. Prerequisites ...

    • RightFax - Debugging RightFax Services (RightFax 9.3–22.2)

      This article provides detailed instructions for debugging individual RightFax services across various supported versions. Debugging allows administrators to generate logs that capture in-depth diagnostic information, helping to identify root causes ...

    • RightFax 10.0 — Historical architecture, requirements, and setup snapshot

      Summary Concise snapshot of RightFax 10.0 circa 2011. Outlines core services, database model, fax board layer, optional modules, and a clean install and configuration flow for legacy reference. Applicability / Versions RightFax 10.0 baseline and ...