Configuring the appliances in the network to behave as a cluster, allowing for high availability and failover, involves two steps:
Once the appliances are configured, the appliances will auto-discover each other and one will be elected as the Cluster Master. All configuration must be done on the Cluster Master, so when accessing the cluster, it is best to use the Cluster Master IP address when managing a cluster.
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Caution When upgrading the firmware of appliances that are part of a cluster, Exinda recommends that you break the cluster before starting the upgrade (Either by disconnecting the cluster link or by clearing the “Cluster” option for the appropriate interface). After all appliances in the cluster have been upgraded to the same firmware, the cluster can be put back together. |
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Configure the appliances with an IP address used within the cluster, as well as the IP address of the cluster master.
In eth2, select Cluster, and type the internal IP address for this node of the cluster in the Static Addresses field.
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Note The Cluster Internal IP for each appliance in the cluster must be in the same subnet and should be an isolated and unused subnet within the network. The cluster subnet is used exclusively for communications between cluster nodes so should be private and not publicly routable. |
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Once these settings are saved, the appliances will auto-discover each other and one will be elected as the Cluster Master. All configuration must be done on the Cluster Master, so when accessing the cluster, it is best to use the Cluster Master IP address when managing a cluster.
Example for a two appliance cluster:
Figure: IP address configuration page on Exinda 1
Figure: IP address configuration page on Exinda 2
Figure: Cluster Master (External) configuration on both Exinda appliances
In the example above, Exinda 1 has a Management IP of 192.168.0.161 and Exinda 2 has a Management IP of 192.168.0.162. The Cluster External IP is configured as 192.168.0.160 on both appliances – regardless of which of these two appliances becomes the Cluster Master, it will be reachable on the 192.168.0.160 IP address. The Cluster Internal IP on Exinda 1 is configured as 192.168.1.1 and on Exinda 2 as 192.168.1.2.
Once these settings are saved, the appliances will auto-discover each other and one will be elected as the Cluster Master. All configuration must be done on the Cluster Master, so in this example, access the cluster via 192.168.0.160. Typically, the first appliance to come online is elected the master.
[no] cluster sync {all|acceleration|monitor|optimizer|compression}
Click Configuration > System > Maintenance > Clustering.
All appliances in the cluster are displayed.
It is also possible to reboot and shutdown other nodes in the cluster from this page.
To identify the cluster master, the role is displayed in the list of all appliances.
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Tip When logged into the Web UI of a cluster node, the role of the node is also shown in the header of the user interface. |
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Turn clustering off on the appliance that is currently the master.
Wait for the standby appliance to become the master.
On the original master appliance, turn clustering back on. This appliance will now be the standby appliance.
Configuration using the CLI is very similar to that of the Web UI.
Configure a Cluster Internal address. Any interface not bound to a bridge or used in another role (e.g. Mirror or WCCP) may be used. This command will need to be run on each node in the cluster, and each with a unique Cluster Internal address.
cluster interface eth2
interface eth2 ip address 192.168.1.1 /24
Configure the Cluster External IP. This command should be executed on all cluster nodes using the same Cluster External IP
cluster master interface eth1
cluster master address vip 192.168.0.160 /24
Enable the cluster.
cluster enable
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Note Configuration changes should only be made on the Cluster Master node. The role of the node currently logged into will be displayed in the CLI prompt as shown below. exinda-091cf4 [exinda-cluster: master] (config) # |
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Issue the following command:
show cluster global brief
Global cluster state summary
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Cluster ID: exinda-default-cluster-id
Cluster name: exinda-cluster
Management IP: 192.168.0.160/24
Cluster master IF: eth1
Cluster node count: 2
ID Role State Host External Addr Internal Addr
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1* master online exinda-A 192.168.0.161 192.168.1.1
2 standby online exinda-B 192.168.0.162 192.168.1.2
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