From Single Point of Failure to Warm Standby: A Practical Core Switch Disaster Recovery Playbook

A practical walkthrough of how Halodoc eliminated a single point of failure in their core network by implementing a warm standby switch. The setup uses an existing spare switch kept fully configured and powered on, with pre-labeled cables and documented port mappings so the team can restore full connectivity within 30 minutes by physically moving cables. A Mikrotik-based backup Wi-Fi network runs independently of the core switch, keeping the 24/7 Customer Service team operational during any switchover. Key lessons: maintain strict config parity between primary and standby switches (especially VLANs), pre-position and label all cables, and validate the procedure with a controlled simulation before a real incident occurs.