Failback
Returning operations to the primary system after running on a standby.
Failing over is usually the rehearsed half. Failback is messier, because data written during the outage has to be reconciled back to the primary without loss or conflict.
It is worth planning explicitly, since an organization that never fails back ends up running permanently on infrastructure that was only ever meant to be temporary.
Where this comes up
Failback sits inside our backup and disaster recovery work. If you are trying to work out what this means for your own environment rather than in the abstract, that is the page worth reading next, and a short call will get you a straight answer faster than either.
Related terms
Failover Switching operation to a standby system when the primary one fails. Replication Continuously copying data or entire systems to a second location so a current copy is always available. Disaster recovery The process and capability for restoring IT systems after a major failure or destructive event.