Creating an Azure xHA pair - BlueCat Integrity - 26.1.0

BlueCat Azure Virtual Appliances
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 on 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: 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.

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 target host must be accessible to both servers in the xHA pair and able to accept/reply to ping requests.
  4. On the IP address configuration tab, enter the previously configured Load balancer IPv4 address and/or Load balancer IPv6 address. If the DNS/DHCP Servers are configured with dedicated management, enter the Load balancer management IP address as well. These are the Frontend IP addresses of the load balancer (Step 4 of Configure the Azure load balancer).
  5. In the Change control section, add comments if required.
  6. 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.