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The Cisco Unity Connection cluster deployment provides high availability voice messaging through the two servers that run the same versions of Unity Connection. The first server in the cluster is the publisher server and the second server is the subscriber server.
Do the following tasks to create a Unity Connection cluster:
1. Gather Unity Connection cluster requirements. For more information, see System Requirements for Cisco Unity Connection Release 10.x at www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/10x/requirements/10xcucsysreqs.html.
2. Install the publisher server. For more information, see the Installing the Publisher Server section.
3. Install the subscriber server. For more information, see the Installing the Subscriber Server section.
4. Configure the Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool for both publisher and subscriber servers to send notifications for the following Unity Connection alerts:
For instructions on setting up alert notification for Unity Connection alerts, see the “Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool” section of the Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool Administration Guide for the required release, available at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps6509/prod_maintenance_guides_list.html.
5. (Optional) Do the following tasks to customize the cluster settings on the publisher server:
a. Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Administration.
b. Expand System Settings > Advanced and select Cluster Configuration.
c. On the Cluster Configuration page, change the server status and select Save. For more information on changing the server status in a cluster, see Help> This Page.
Note Cluster configuration is not supported with Cisco Unified Communications Manager Business Edition 5000.
You must check the Unity Connection cluster status to ensure that the cluster is correctly configured and working properly. It is also important to understand the different server status in a cluster and the effects of changing a server status in a cluster.
You can check the Unity Connection cluster status either using web interface or Command Line Interface (CLI).
Step 1 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability of either publisher or subscriber server.
Step 2 Expand Tools and select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, check the server status. For more information about server status, see the Server Status and its Functions in a Unity Connection Cluster section.
Step 1 You can run the show cuc cluster status CLI command on the publisher server or subscriber server to check the cluster status.
Step 2 For more information about server status and its related functions, see the Server Status and its Functions in a Unity Connection Cluster section.
In a Unity Connection cluster, the servers share the same phone system integrations. Each server is responsible for handling a share of the incoming calls for the cluster (answering phone calls and taking messages).
Depending on the phone system integration, each voice messaging port is either assigned to a specific server or used by both servers. Table 4-1 describes the port assignments.
Follow the steps in this section to stop all the ports on a server from taking any new calls. Calls in progress continue until the callers hang up.
Tip Use the Port Monitor page in the Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT) to determine whether any port is currently handling calls for the server. For more information, see the Step a.
To Stop All Ports on a Unity Connection Server from Taking New Calls
Step 1 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 2 Expand the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, under Port Manager, in the Change Port Status column, select Stop Taking Calls for the server.
Follow the steps in this section to restart all the ports on a Unity Connection server to allow them take calls again after they were stopped.
To Restart All Ports on a Unity Connection Server to Take Calls
Step 1 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 2 Expand the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, under Port Manager, in the Change Port Status column, select Take Calls for the server.
Each server in the cluster has a status that appears on the Cluster Management page of Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability. The status indicates the functions that the server is currently performing in the cluster, as described in Table 4-2 .
The Unity Connection cluster status can be changed either automatically or manually.
You can manually change the status of servers in a cluster in the following ways:
To Manually Change the Server Status from Secondary to Primary
Step 1 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 2 From the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, from the Server Manager menu, in the Change Server Status column of the server with Secondary status, select Make Primary.
Step 4 When prompted to confirm the change in server status, select OK.
The Server Status column displays the changed status when the change is complete.
Note The server that originally had Primary status automatically changes to Secondary status.
To Manually Change the Server Status from Secondary to Deactivated
Step 1 Sign in to the Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT).
Step 2 From the Cisco Unity Connection menu, select Port Monitor. The Port Monitor tool appears in the right pane.
Step 3 In the Node field, select the server with Secondary status.
Step 4 In the right pane, select Start Polling. Note whether any voice messaging ports are currently handling calls for the server.
Step 5 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 6 From the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 7 If no voice messaging ports are currently handling calls for the server, skip to Step 8.
If there are voice messaging ports that are currently handling calls for the server, on the Cluster Management page, in the Change Port Status column, select Stop Taking Calls for the server and then wait until RTMT shows that all ports for the server are idle.
Step 8 On the Cluster Management page, from the Server Manager menu, in the Change Server Status column for the server with Secondary status, select Deactivate.
Step 9 When prompted to confirm the change in the server status, select OK.
The Server Status column displays the changed status when the change is complete.
To Manually Activate a Server with Deactivated Status
Step 1 Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 2 From the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, in the Server Manager menu, in the Change Server Status column for the server with Deactivated status, select Activate.
Step 4 When prompted to confirm the change in the server status, select OK.
The Server Status column displays the changed status when the change is complete.
When the status of a Unity Connection server changes, the effect on calls in progress depend upon the final status of the server that is handling a call and on the condition of the network. The following table describes the effects:
If network connections are lost, then calls in progress may be dropped depending upon the nature of the network problem.
The functioning of the following web applications is not affected when the server status changes:
Critical services are necessary for the normal functioning of the Unity Connection system. The effects of stopping a critical service depend upon the server and its status described in the following table:
When a Unity Connection server has Primary or Secondary status, it is handles voice messaging traffic and cluster data replication. We do not recommend you to shutdown both the servers in a cluster at the same time to avoid abrupt termination of the calls and replication that are in progress.
Consider the following points when you want to shutdown a server in a Unity Connection cluster:
Note If the timeout value of publisher is less than 30 minutes, the system shuts down and comes back up on its own. This means that it treats this situation as "REBOOT" instead of "SHUTDOWN", therefore the autofailover works. However, if the timeout value of publisher is greater than 30 minutes, the systems treats it as "GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN" and you need to manually change the roles.
To Shutdown a Server in a Unity Connection Cluster
Step 1 On the server that will not be shut down, sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
Step 2 From the Tools menu, select Cluster Management.
Step 3 On the Cluster Management page, locate the server that you want to shut down.
Step 4 If the server that you want to shut down has Secondary status, skip to Step 5.
If the server that you want to shut down has Primary status, change the status:
a. In the Change Server Status column for the server with Secondary status, select Make Primary.
b. When prompted to confirm the change in the server status, select OK.
c. Confirm that the Server Status column indicates that the server has Primary status now and that the server you want to shut down has Secondary status.
Step 5 On the server with Secondary status (the one you want to shut down), change the status:
a. Sign in to the Real-Time Monitoring Tool (RTMT).
b. From the Cisco Unity Connection menu, select Port Monitor. The Port Monitor tool appears in the right pane.
c. In the Node field, select the server with Secondary status.
d. In the right pane, select Start Polling.
e. Note whether any voice messaging ports are currently handling calls for the server.
f. If no voice messaging ports are currently handling calls for the server, skip to Step5g..
If there are voice messaging ports that are currently handling calls for the server, on the Cluster Management page, in the Change Port Status column, select Stop Taking Calls for the server and then wait until RTMT shows that all ports for the server are idle.
g. On the Cluster Management page, from the Server Manager menu, in the Change Server Status column for the server with Secondary status, select Deactivate.
h. When prompted to confirm the change in the server status, select OK.
i. Confirm that the Server Status column indicates that the server now has Deactivated status.
Step 6 Shut down the server that you deactivated:
a. Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability.
b. Expand Tools and select Cluster Management.
c. Make sure that the Server Status column shows Not Functioning status for the server that you shutdown.
Follow the steps in the given sections to replace publisher or subscriber server in a cluster:
To understand the Unity Connection cluster in detail, follow the given sections:
The Unity Connection cluster feature provides high availability voice messaging through two Unity Connection servers that are configured in a cluster.
The Unity Connection cluster behavior when both the servers are active:
Each server in a cluster is responsible for handling a share of the incoming calls for the cluster (answering phone calls and taking messages). The server with Primary status is responsible for the following functions:
When one of the servers stops functioning (for example, when it is shutdown for maintenance), the remaining server resumes the responsibility of handling all the incoming calls for the cluster. The database and message store are replicated to the other server when its functionality is restored.
When the server that stopped functioning is able to resume its normal functions and is activated, it resumes responsibility of handling its share of incoming calls for the cluster.
To monitor the server status, the Connection Server Role Manager service runs in Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability on both the servers. This service performs the following functions:
Note the following limitations when the publisher server is not functioning:
The Connection Server Role Manager service sends a keep-alive events between the publisher and subscriber servers to confirm that the servers are functioning and connected. If one of the servers stops functioning or the connection between the servers is lost, the Connection Server Role Manager service waits for the keep-alive events and may require 30 to 60 seconds to detect that the other server is not available. While the Connection Server Role Manager service is waiting for the keep-alive events, users signing in to the server with Secondary status will not be able to access their mailbox or send messages, because the Connection Server Role Manager service has not yet detected that the server with Primary status (which has the active message store) is unavailable. In this situation, callers who attempt to leave a message may hear dead air or may not hear the recording beep.
Note It is recommended to import and delete the LDAP users from the publisher node only.
When both the servers in a Unity Connection cluster have Primary status at the same time (for example, when the servers have lost their connection with each other), both servers handle the incoming calls (answer phone calls and take messages), send message notifications, send MWI requests, accept changes to the administrative interfaces (such as Unity Connection Administration), and synchronize voice messages in Unity Connection and Exchange mailboxes if single inbox is turned on. However, the servers do not replicate the database and message store to each other and do not receive replicated data from each other.
When the connection between the servers is restored, the status of the servers temporarily changes to Split Brain Recovery while the data is replicated between the servers and MWI settings are coordinated. During the time when the server status is Split Brain Recovery, the Connection Message Transfer Agent service and the Connection Notifier service (in Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability) are stopped on both servers, so Unity Connection does not deliver any messages and does not send any message notifications. The Connection Mailbox Sync service is also stopped, so Unity Connection does not synchronize voice messages with Exchange (single inbox). The message stores are also briefly dismounted, so that Unity Connection tells users who are trying to retrieve their messages at this point that their mailboxes are temporarily unavailable.
When the recovery process is complete, the Connection Message Transfer Agent service and the Connection Notifier service are started on the publisher server. Delivery of the messages that arrived while during the recovery process may take additional time, depending on the number of messages to be delivered. The Connection Message Transfer Agent service and the Connection Notifier service are started on the subscriber server. Finally, the publisher server has Primary status and the subscriber server has Secondary status. At this point, the Connection Mailbox Sync service is started on the server with Primary status, so that Unity Connection can resume synchronizing voice messages with Exchange if single inbox is turned on.