High Availability (Ha)

A building management system (BMS) is a computer-based control system installed in buildings that controls and monitors the building’s mechanical and electrical equipment such as ventilation, lighting, power systems, fire systems, and security systems.

A BMS is sometimes referred to as a Building Automation System (BAS). The main purpose of a BMS is to keep the occupants of the building comfortable and to minimize the use of energy.

The control system accomplishes this by monitoring and controlling the individual subsystems in the building. For example, if the outside air temperature is cool and there are people in the building, the BMS will adjust the temperature of the air conditioning system to save energy.

A secondary purpose of a BMS is to provide safety and security for the occupants of the building. For example, if a fire is detected in the building, the BMS will activate the sprinkler system and notify the local fire department. A high availability (HA) BMS is a type of BMS that has been designed to maintain continuous operation even in the event of component failure. A HA BMS typically uses redundant components and has additional features such as automatic failover and status monitoring.