Background
Over-the-air (OTA) software updates have become a cornerstone of modern connected devices, enabling manufacturers to remotely deploy feature upgrades, security patches, and bug fixes without requiring physical access. However, the reliability of OTA services depends heavily on the underlying infrastructure. Even minor disruptions or regional outages can delay updates, compromise device performance, or affect end-user trust.
Redstone OTA has designed a robust Disaster Recovery (DR) plan to ensure continuous OTA operations, maintain data integrity, and protect business continuity—even in the face of large-scale disasters.
Challenges in OTA Service Continuity
Running OTA updates at scale involves several inherent challenges:
- Regional Failures: Natural disasters, extreme weather, or infrastructure incidents can disrupt cloud services, especially if all systems are located in a single region.
- Data Integrity Risks: OTA operations generate critical logs, ECU update histories, VIN data, and campaign information. Any downtime can lead to data loss.
- Resource Bottlenecks: Cloud providers occasionally face capacity constraints, which can prevent real-time scaling during peak loads.
- Business Continuity: Downtime during OTA updates can impact millions of devices, affecting compliance and customer satisfaction.
Without a carefully designed DR strategy, these challenges can lead to service disruptions, delayed updates, and potential financial and reputational loss.
Redstone’s Solution: Disaster Recovery Plan Overview
Redstone OTA addresses these challenges with a cross-region, active-passive disaster recovery architecture. The plan ensures uninterrupted OTA services, rapid failover, and near-zero data loss. Key elements include:
- Multi-Region Deployment: Systems are deployed in two geographically separated regions to enhance resilience.
- Full-Stack Redundancy: Both regions run Web, App, and Database layers.
- Active-Passive Model: The primary region handles operations while the DR region remains synchronized and ready for cutover.
- Automated Database Replication: OTA logs, ECU update history, and campaign metadata are replicated in near real-time to prevent data loss.
- Failover & Restoration: DNS-based traffic routing and health-checked load balancers automatically redirect traffic to the DR region if the primary region fails. ECS instances and storage volumes in the DR region are pre-configured and periodically validated. Manual override is available via playbooks if automation is impacted.
- Storage Disaster Recovery Service (SDRS): Distributed Storage Service (DSS) is synchronized between regions to ensure storage redundancy.
Detailed Disaster Recovery Architecture
1. Multi-Region Deployment
- Region 1 and Region 2 operate in isolated environments (e.g., different cloud availability zones or countries).
- Both regions include Web, App (ECS), and Database (BMS/DCC) layers, ensuring full-stack redundancy.
2. Load Balancing & DNS Routing
- A central DNS with load balancer routes incoming requests based on region health.
- Traffic is automatically redirected to Region 2 if Region 1 experiences failure.
3. ECS Disaster Recovery (App Layer)
- ECS clusters in each region allow rapid container or VM spin-up during node failures.
4. Database Replication & Storage Synchronization
- Databases are hosted on high-performance Bare Metal Servers (BMS) and Dedicated Compute Clusters (DCC).
- DSS is replicated via SDRS between regions.
- Real-time database replication ensures data consistency between primary and backup sites.
5. DR Tiers & Recovery Objectives
| Component | Recovery Time Objective (RTO) | Recovery Point Objective (RPO) |
| OTA Application Layer | < 30 min | 0 |
| Campaign Data / Logs | < 1 hr | ≤ 5 min |
| ECU Status + VIN Logs | < 15 min | 0 |
| API Gateway / Web UI | < 30 min | Restored via traffic failover |
6. DR Strategy
- Cross-Region Active-Passive Model: Primary region handles all operations, DR region synchronized for cutover.
- Automated Database Replication: Near real-time replication preserves OTA logs and device data.
- Failover & Restoration: Automatic DNS failover within minutes; pre-configured ECS clusters and storage validated regularly. Manual override supported.
7. DR Testing & Validation
- Quarterly DR drills simulate failover to validate readiness.
- Post-incident root-cause analysis (RCA) reports delivered within 5 business days.
- Supports compliance audits per client-specific or ISO/automotive security standards.
8. Communication Protocol
- Client designated contacts notified within 30 minutes of disaster detection.
- Regular recovery updates provided.
- Full incident reports and remediation plans delivered within 5 business days.
9. Cost Efficiency
- No third-party DR software required.
- DR region can share live traffic to offload primary region during peak load.
- Flexible scaling allows traffic shifting between regions during outages.
10. Optional Enhancements
- Full active-active architecture for zero-downtime coverage (premium option).
- Enhanced geo-fencing and compliance-specific deployments (e.g., UK/EU data sovereignty).
- Integration with the client’s incident response systems for custom DR playbooks.
Disaster Recovery Architecture by Redstone
Key Advantages of Redstone’s Disaster Recovery Plan
High Reliability
Cross-region deployment mitigates risks from natural disasters or regional outages, ensuring continuous OTA service. Even in extreme weather or infrastructure incidents, Redstone can maintain business continuity.
Cost Efficiency
No additional DR software is needed, lowering cost. Sharing live traffic between regions maximizes infrastructure ROI.
Operational Flexibility
Dynamic traffic routing and load balancing allow real-time scaling across regions. Resource bottlenecks in one region can be bypassed by redirecting traffic to the other, ensuring uninterrupted service.
Conclusion
Redstone OTA’s Disaster Recovery Plan guarantees uninterrupted OTA updates, high reliability, and data integrity. By leveraging a cross-region, active-passive architecture with automated failover, real-time replication, pre-configured ECS clusters, and robust DR processes, Redstone ensures devices remain updated and secure—even during regional outages or large-scale disasters.
For manufacturers and service providers relying on OTA updates, Redstone delivers peace of mind, operational continuity, and a resilient infrastructure that supports global deployment.
