Creating an xHA pair - BlueCat Integrity - 26.1.0

Address Manager Administration Guide
ft:locale
en-US
Product name
BlueCat Integrity
Version
26.1.0

You can create an xHA pair on Dedicated Management-enabled or disabled servers with IPv4 only, IPv6 only, or with both IPv4 and IPv6.

Before creating an xHA pair, make sure you have completed the following from the DNS/DHCP Server Administration Console of each DNS/DHCP Server as needed for your configuration:

  IPv4 only / IPv6 only Dual-stack (IPv4 and IPv6)
Dedicated Management enabled
The following settings apply to servers with IPv4 only and with Dedicated Management enabled:
  • Service interface (eth0)—configure an IPv4 address and netmask.
  • Management interface (eth2)—configure an IPv4 address and netmask.
  • Gateway—set an IPv4 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—enabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
The following settings apply to servers with IPv6 only and with Dedicated Management enabled:
  • Service interface (eth0)—configure an IPv6 address and prefix.
  • Management interface (eth2)—configure an IPv6 address and prefix.
  • Gateway—set an IPv6 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—enabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
The following settings apply to servers with IPv4 and IPv6 and with Dedicated Management enabled:
  • Service interface (eth0) — configure one IPv4 address and netmask, and one IPv6 address and prefix.
  • Management interface (eth2)—configure an IPv4 or IPv6 address and netmask.
  • Gateway—set both an IPv4 and IPv6 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—enabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
Dedicated Management disabled
The following settings apply to servers with IPv4 and with Dedicated Management disabled:
  • Service interface (eth0)—configure an IPv4 address and netmask.
  • Gateway—set an IPv4 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—disabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
The following settings apply to servers with IPv6 and with Dedicated Management disabled:
  • Service interface (eth0)—configure an IPv6 address and prefix.
  • Gateway—set an IPv6 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—disabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
The following settings apply to servers with IPv4 and IPv6 and with Dedicated Management disabled:
  • Service interface (eth0) — configure one IPv4 address and netmask, and one IPv6 address and prefix.
  • Gateway—set both an IPv4 and IPv6 network gateway.
  • Dedicated Management—disabled on each DNS/DHCP Server.
Attention: Make sure to configure the IP addresses of the xHA interfaces (eth1) on a different subnet than any other interfaces. This is the recommended best practice for direct xHA backbone connections and connections over switches or wide area networks (WAN), but is not mandatory if you're using a direct connection to the eth1 interface on each DNS/DHCP Server. In addition, if the DNS/DHCP Servers are not connected by a direct ethernet xHA backbone connection, the xHA interfaces should be separated onto a different LAN segment to prevent the xHA interfaces from receiving layer-2 broadcast traffic intended for other interfaces. This can be achieved by separate VLANs for each interface, private networks (for virtual appliances), or separate physical switches. For information and help on running xHA with switches, contact BlueCat Customer Care. For details on creating an xHA pair in Address Manager, refer to Managing xHA.
Attention: When running xHA with IPv4 only, you must ensure that there are NO IPv6 addresses on either the Active or Passive nodes. Similarly when running xHA with IPv6 only, you must ensure that there are NO IPv4 addresses on either the Active or Passive nodes. Both the Active and Passive Nodes should be configured with only one IPv4 and/or IPv6 services address.
Note: Creating an xHA pair in Azure requires additional configuration steps and considerations. For more information, refer to Configuring crossover high availability (xHA) in Azure.

To create an xHA pair:

  1. Select the Servers tab in the sidebar, then select Servers.
  2. Select New > xHA server.
    Note: DNS/DHCP Servers selected for an xHA pair must share the same server profile. For example, both servers must be DNS/DHCP Server 60 units.
  3. Under General, specify the active and passive servers:
    1. In the Active server field, select the previously added DNS/DHCP Server that will be the active server.
    2. In the Active server password field, enter the password for the DNS/DHCP Server. For more information on default login credential, refer to BlueCat default login credentials (you must be authenticated to view this topic).
    3. In the Passive server field, select the previously added DNS/DHCP Server that will be the passive server.
    4. In the Passive server password field, enter the password for the DNS/DHCP Server. For more information on default login credential, refer to BlueCat default login credentials (you must be authenticated to view this topic).
    5. (Optional) In the Ping address field, enter a ping IP address that the servers in the xHA pair can use to help determine the status of their network connection. The address must be accessible to both servers in the xHA pair.
    Note: Address Manager will create an xHA cluster using the IP addresses of the Active server as the virtual IP addresses (VIP).
  4. On the Active server IP address tab, enter the IP address or addresses that will replace the management and services interface address(es) of the active server. When an xHA pair is configured, the service and management interface IP address(es) currently configured on the active server become the virtual service and management address(es) of the xHA pair. The IP address(es) entered here become the new services/management interface address(es) of the active node (server) in the xHA pair. For example, for two servers with IPv4 addresses configured on eth0, and dedicated management disabled (services/management shared by eth0), the eth0 IPv4 address of the active server becomes the virtual services/management address of the xHA pair, and the IPv4 address entered here becomes the new address for eth0 on the active node (server).
  5. To enable backbone communication: On the xHA backbone tab, set the following parameters:
    • Enable xHA backbone communication—select this checkbox to enable xHA backbone communication. Additional fields appear to configure the backbone IP addresses and netmasks/prefixes for the active and passive nodes. If you previously configured the xHA backbone when adding the DNS/DHCP Server or creating xHA, the IP addresses and netmasks/prefixes for the active and passive nodes will be pre-populated with the existing values. If this is your first time configuring the xHA backbone connection, enter the IP address and netmask/prefix lengths for the active and passive servers.
      Note: When configuring an IPv6 address for the xHA backbone, the prefix must be set between the accepted CIDR range of 64 to 127.
      Note: Complete this step only if Dedicated Management is enabled.
  6. On the NAT tab, set the following NAT (Network Address Translation) options:
    • Enable NAT support—select to enable NAT support. When selected, the following fields appear. This is the virtual IP address for the xHA pair behind NAT.
      • Active server IPv4 Address (inside)—enter the inside NAT IPv4 address for the active server.
      • Passive server IPv4 Address (inside)—enter the inside NAT IPv4 address for the passive server.
      • Active server new IPv4 address (inside)—enter a new inside NAT IPv4 address for the active server. This is the new physical IP address for the Active server.
    Note: Complete this step only if Dedicated Management is disabled.
  7. In the Change control section, add comments if required.
  8. Select Create or Create and add another.

Wait three to four minutes for the DNS/DHCP Servers to finish the configuration. After this time, you should be able to query the pair for information.

  • At this point, you are managing the xHA pair as a single entity, although it has two physical nodes. You can now view the status of the xHA cluster and the active and passive nodes to verify interface and network settings. For details, refer to Viewing xHA status.
  • If you are satisfied with the status of the xHA pair, you should deploy DNS/DHCP to the xHA pair to ensure proper operation with Address Manager. For details, refer to Deploying data to an xHA pair.