Cisco Unity Failover Configuration and Administration Guide (With Microsoft Exchange), Release 4.x
Monitoring and Maintaining Cisco Unity Failover

Table Of Contents

Monitoring and Maintaining Cisco Unity Failover

Starting the Servers in the Correct Order

Determining Which Server Is Active

Manually Initiating Failover or Failback

Disabling Automatic Failover and Failback for Troubleshooting

Confirming That Failover and Failback Function Correctly

Determining the Cause of Failover or Failback from an Event ID

Changing the IP Address of the Primary Server

Changing the IP Address of the Secondary Server

About Uninstalling Failover on a Cisco Unity Server

Replacing and Converting the Primary and Secondary Servers


Monitoring and Maintaining Cisco Unity Failover


This chapter contains the following sections:

Starting the Servers in the Correct Order

Determining Which Server Is Active

Manually Initiating Failover or Failback

Disabling Automatic Failover and Failback for Troubleshooting

Confirming That Failover and Failback Function Correctly

Determining the Cause of Failover or Failback from an Event ID

Changing the IP Address of the Primary Server

Changing the IP Address of the Secondary Server

About Uninstalling Failover on a Cisco Unity Server

Replacing and Converting the Primary and Secondary Servers

Starting the Servers in the Correct Order

Start the primary server first, then start the secondary server. If you start the secondary server first, it becomes the active server.

Determining Which Server Is Active

You can determine which server is active by viewing information in the Failover Monitor on either server. In the Services section, Local Status indicates the status of the server on which you are viewing the Failover Monitor, and Remote Status indicates the status of the other server. Table 3-1 lists the values and their meanings.

Table 3-1 Meanings of Local Status and Remote Status Values 

Value for Local Status
or Remote Status
Meaning

Running; Active

The specified server is the active server.

Running; Inactive

The specified server is the inactive server.

Not running; Active

No server is currently active because a required service is not running. However, the specified server will be the active server when you restart the Cisco Unity software.

Not running; Inactive

The specified server is the inactive server. However, if the active server fails, the specified server will not start taking calls because a required service is not running.

If you restart the Cisco Unity software on the specified server, it will become the active server as long as you have not disabled automatic failover and failback, and the other server is not active.

Running|Not running;
Unknown

The Node Manager service (AvCsNodeMgr) is starting on the specified server.

Other

Failover or failback is occurring.


Manually Initiating Failover or Failback

You can manually initiate failover from the primary server to the secondary server so that the secondary server takes calls while you perform maintenance on the primary server. When you want the primary server to start taking calls again, you manually initiate failback from the secondary server to the primary server.

Manual failover can also be initiated by the Event Monitoring Service (EMS) when a user-specified event occurs. For details, refer to EMS Help.


Note The failover feature cannot be used for continuing Cisco Unity service on one server while upgrading the Cisco Unity software on the other server. Both the primary and secondary servers must be out of service while the Cisco Unity software is upgraded. The secondary server cannot handle voice messaging while the primary server is being upgraded.


When you manually initiate failover or failback, the interaction of the primary and secondary servers is the same as for automatic failover and failback. However, we recommend that you confirm that any changes to the SQL Server database (UnityDb) on the active server have been replicated to the inactive server before initiating failover or failback. Do the first procedure, "To Confirm That Changes to UnityDb Have Been Replicated to the Inactive Server."

The second and third procedures provide instructions for initiating failover and failback.

To Confirm That Changes to UnityDb Have Been Replicated to the Inactive Server


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manger.

Step 2 In the left pane of the Console Root window, browse to the name of the primary server. Typically, this name is two levels under the Microsoft SQL Servers node.

Step 3 Browse to the Replication Monitor > Agents node.

Step 4 Check for errors in the Snapshot Agent, Log Reader Agent, Distribution Agent, and Queue Reader Agent. Ignore errors that do not apply to the time period when UnityDb changed.

Replication is complete when both primary and secondary servers are running, the agents are not active, and the status of the agents is Idle or Succeeded. Any other status for any agent indicates that replication is not complete.


To Manually Initiate Failover to the Secondary Server


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Failover.

Step 3 Click OK to confirm that you want to fail over to the secondary server.

Step 4 See the following sections to do the applicable tasks:

"Notifying Subscribers of the Active Server and the URLs to Use for Accessing Cisco Unity Web Applications" section on page 2-1

"Notifying Subscribers to Update the Server Name in the Media Master" section on page 2-1

"T1 Integration: Enabling the Phone System to Send Calls to the Active Server After Failover or Failback Occurs" section on page 2-3


To Manually Initiate Failback to the Primary Server


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Failback.

Step 3 Click OK to confirm that you want to fail back to the primary server.

Step 4 See the following sections to do the applicable tasks:

"Notifying Subscribers of the Active Server and the URLs to Use for Accessing Cisco Unity Web Applications" section on page 2-1

"Notifying Subscribers to Update the Server Name in the Media Master" section on page 2-1

"T1 Integration: Enabling the Phone System to Send Calls to the Active Server After Failover or Failback Occurs" section on page 2-3


Disabling Automatic Failover and Failback for Troubleshooting

Disable automatic failover and failback only during troubleshooting.

This section contains procedures for disabling automatic failover and failback, for manually initiating failover and failback while the automatic functions are disabled, and for re-enabling automatic failover and failback.

Note that when automatic failover and failback are disabled:

File replication is also disabled.

You must manually force a server to become active or inactive by using the Failover Monitor.

If you restart the primary and secondary servers while automatic failover and failback are disabled, both servers start as inactive, so Cisco Unity is not able to take calls.


Caution When you disable automatic failover and failback, the primary server never fails over to the secondary server even if the primary server stops taking calls. In addition, the secondary server never fails back to the primary server even if you have specified a schedule for automatic failback.

To Disable Automatic Failover and Failback


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Advanced.

Step 3 Check the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

Step 4 Click OK.


To Manually Initiate Failover to the Secondary Server While Automatic Failover and Failback Are Disabled


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Force Inactive.

Step 3 Click OK to confirm.

Step 4 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 5 Click Force Active.

Step 6 Click OK to confirm.

Step 7 See the following sections to do the applicable tasks:

"Notifying Subscribers of the Active Server and the URLs to Use for Accessing Cisco Unity Web Applications" section on page 2-1

"Notifying Subscribers to Update the Server Name in the Media Master" section on page 2-1

"T1 Integration: Enabling the Phone System to Send Calls to the Active Server After Failover or Failback Occurs" section on page 2-3


To Manually Initiate Failback to the Primary Server While Automatic Failover and Failback Are Disabled


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Force Inactive.

Step 3 Click OK to confirm.

Step 4 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 5 Click Force Active.

Step 6 Click OK to confirm.

Step 7 See the following sections to do the applicable tasks:

"Notifying Subscribers of the Active Server and the URLs to Use for Accessing Cisco Unity Web Applications" section on page 2-1

"Notifying Subscribers to Update the Server Name in the Media Master" section on page 2-1

"T1 Integration: Enabling the Phone System to Send Calls to the Active Server After Failover or Failback Occurs" section on page 2-3


Do the following procedure if you are not planning to run the failover configuration wizard. (Automatic failover and failback are re-enabled during the failover configuration wizard.)

To Re-enable Automatic Failover and Failback


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Advanced.

Step 3 Uncheck the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

Step 4 Click OK.


Confirming That Failover and Failback Function Correctly

This section contains two procedures. Do the first procedure, "To Check the Consistency of the Cisco Unity Database," only if you have not already run the Cisco Unity Directory Walker (DbWalker) utility. DbWalker is used to check the consistency of and correct errors in the Cisco Unity database, ensuring that database replication to the secondary server will function correctly after the failover configuration wizard has been run.

During the second procedure, "To Confirm That Failover and Failback Function Correctly," you may need to run the failover configuration wizard, depending on test results.

To Check the Consistency of the Cisco Unity Database


Step 1 On the primary server, install the latest version of the Cisco Unity Directory Walker (DbWalker) utility, available at http://ciscounitytools.com/App_DirectoryWalker4.htm.

Step 2 Run DbWalker, and correct all errors that the utility finds. Refer to DbWalker Help for detailed instructions on running the utility and on correcting errors in the database. (The Help file, DbWalker.htm, is in the same directory as DbWalker.exe.)

 


If you must configure failover again or run the failover configuration wizard during the following procedure, see the "Configuring Cisco Unity Failover" chapter for instructions.

To Confirm That Failover and Failback Function Correctly


Step 1 While the primary server is active, create a test file (for example, Test.txt) in the CommServer\Stream Files directory on the primary server.

Step 2 Confirm that the file replicates to the secondary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

If the file does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 3 On the primary server, modify the extension of a subscriber.

Step 4 Confirm that the change replicates to the secondary server immediately. When you open the Cisco Unity Administrator on the secondary server, ignore the warnings that the secondary server is inactive.

If the change does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 5 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manager. The SQL Server Enterprise Manager window appears.

Step 6 In the left pane, expand the Microsoft SQL Servers node.

Step 7 Expand the Replication Monitor node.

If the node does not exist, failover has not been configured. You must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 8 If the Replication Monitor subnodes do not have red Xs on them in the left pane, UnityDb database replication for failover is functioning normally.

If the Replication Monitor subnodes have red Xs on them, restore replication for failover:

a. On the primary server, close the SQL Server Enterprise Manager window.

b. On the secondary server, run the failover configuration wizard.

Step 9 Restore the original extension of the subscriber.

Step 10 On the primary server, manually initiate failover.

Step 11 Confirm that the primary server becomes inactive and that the secondary server becomes active.

Step 12 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 13 Confirm that the secondary server answers the call.

If the secondary server does not answer the call, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 14 On the secondary server, delete the test file from the CommServer\Stream Files directory.

Step 15 Confirm that the file is deleted from the primary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

Step 16 On the secondary server, manually initiate failback.

Step 17 Confirm that the primary server becomes active and that the secondary server becomes inactive.

Step 18 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 19 Confirm that the primary server answers the call.


 

Determining the Cause of Failover or Failback from an Event ID

This section describes how to determine the cause of failover and failback based on the event IDs that appear in the Event log.

To Determine the Cause of Failover or Failback from an Event ID


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer.

Step 2 In the Tree pane on the left, click Application Log. The log appears in the right pane.

Step 3 Locate the entries that show CiscoUnity_NodeMgr in the Source column.

Step 4 For the entries, note the event IDs that appear in the Event column.

Step 5 On the secondary server, repeat Step 1 through Step 4.

Step 6 Use Table 3-2, which follows the procedure, to determine the cause of failover or failback.


Table 3-2 Causes of Failover or Failback Based on Event ID 

Server and Event ID
Cause

Primary: 1070 and 1048

Secondary: 1050 and 1047

Manual failover occurred, initiated by the system administrator using the Failover Monitor.

Primary: 1078 and 1048

Secondary: 1050 and 1047

Manual failover occurred, initiated by the Event Monitoring Service (EMS) when a user-specified event occurs.

Secondary: 1068 and 1048

Primary: 1049 and 1047

Manual failback occurred.

Secondary: 1069 and 1048

Primary: 1049 and 1047

Scheduled failback occurred.

Secondary: 1050 and 1047
1010 (possible)
1011 (possible)

The active primary server crashed.

Primary: 1049 and 1047
1010 (possible)
1011 (possible)

The active secondary server crashed.

Primary: 1010 (possible)
1011 (possible)

Secondary: 1050 and 1047
1010 (possible)
1011 (possible

The active primary server has network connectivity problems.

Secondary: 1010 (possible)
1011 (possible)

Primary: 1049 and 1047
1010 (possible)
1011 (possible)

The active secondary server has network connectivity problems.

Primary: 1048

Secondary: 1050, 1047,
and CiscoUnity_Miu 542

The combination of event IDs will appear for any of the following causes:

The active primary server has a bad port that caused failover to occur.

A caller dialed the extension of a voice messaging port in the secondary server and the Force Failover If Call Arrives on Inactive Secondary check box is checked in the Failover Monitor, causing failover to occur.

Circuit-switched phone systems: For phone systems that use a linear hunt group (the hunt group starts searching always with the same voice messaging port), an unintended failover may have occurred if the Force Failover If Call Arrives on Inactive Secondary check box is checked in the Failover Monitor. With this configuration, when a call to Cisco Unity is terminated either before being answered or within a few seconds after being answered by the primary server, the phone system may route a second call immediately to the same port. This can cause the secondary server to count rings from both calls as a single call, thus triggering failover.

The cause can be eliminated by setting up a guard timer on the phone system. The timer enforces a minimum interval between consecutive calls sent to a given port. Note that the timer may not be available on all phone systems.


Changing the IP Address of the Primary Server

When choosing an IP address for the primary Cisco Unity server, note the following considerations:

Do not choose an address accessible from the Internet. Doing so can expose the Cisco Unity server to unwanted intrusion from the Internet, even when the server is hardened.

Do not choose an address that puts the Cisco Unity server on the opposite side of a firewall from:

The partner Exchange server.

Any Exchange server that homes Cisco Unity subscribers.

The domain controller/global catalog server that Cisco Unity accesses.

Do the following nine procedures in the order listed.

 

To Disable Automatic Failover and Failback, and Stop File Replication


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Failover.

Step 3 Click OK to confirm that you want to fail over to the secondary server.

Step 4 Click Advanced.

Step 5 Check the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

Step 6 Click OK.

Step 7 Click Configure.

Step 8 Uncheck the Force Failover If Call Arrives on Inactive Secondary check box.

Step 9 Click OK.

Step 10 Close the Failover Monitor.


 

To Stop the Node Manager Service on the Primary and Secondary Servers


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.

Step 2 In the Services window, right-click AvCsNodeMgr, and click Stop.

Step 3 Close the Services window on the primary server.

Step 4 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.

Step 5 In the Services window, right-click AvCsNodeMgr, and click Stop.

Step 6 Close the Services window on the secondary server.


 

To Change the IP Address of the Primary Server


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Settings > Control Panel > Network and Dial-Up Connections > Local Area Connection.

Step 2 Click Properties.

Step 3 In the Components Checked Are Used by This Connection list, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), but do not uncheck the check box.

Step 4 Click Properties.

Step 5 In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, change values as applicable. Refer to Windows Help for more information.

Step 6 Click OK to close the Internet Protocol TCP/IP Properties dialog box.

Step 7 Click OK to close the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.

Step 8 Close the Local Area Connection Status window.

Step 9 If the IP address is in a different subnet, disconnect the network cable from the original subnet, and connect the cable from the target subnet to the Cisco Unity server.

Step 10 Confirm that the server name can be resolved to the new IP address.


 

To Check the Consistency of the Cisco Unity Database


Step 1 On the primary server, install the latest version of the Cisco Unity Directory Walker (DbWalker) utility, available at http://ciscounitytools.com/App_DirectoryWalker4.htm.

Step 2 Run DbWalker, and correct all errors that the utility finds. Refer to DbWalker Help for detailed instructions on running the utility and on correcting errors in the database. (The Help file, DbWalker.htm, is in the same directory as DbWalker.exe.)

 


To Set the Registry of the Secondary Server by Reconfiguring Failover


Step 1 On the Windows taskbar, double-click the system clock. The Date/Time Properties dialog box appears.

Step 2 Set the time to the same hour and minute as shown on the primary server, and click OK.

Step 3 In Windows Explorer, browse to the CommServer directory.

Step 4 Double-click FailoverConfig.exe to start the Configure Cisco Unity Failover wizard.

Step 5 On the Welcome page, click Next.

Step 6 On the Specify Server Role page, click Secondary Server, and click Next.

Step 7 On the Enter the Name of Your Server page, click Browse, select the name of the primary server, and click OK. The IP address for the primary server is filled in automatically.

Step 8 Click Next.

Step 9 On the Enter Failover Account Information page, click Browse, and double-click the name of the messaging account. This account will own the failover service.

The account you select must have the right to act as part of the operating system and to log on as a service, and must be a member of the Local Administrators group.


Caution You must specify the same account on the both the primary and secondary servers.

Step 10 In the Password field, enter the password for the account that owns the failover service, and click Next.

Step 11 On the Begin Configuring Your Server page, click Configure. The wizard verifies settings and configures failover on the secondary server.

If the wizard does not finish the configuration successfully, an error message explains why the wizard failed. Exit the wizard, correct the problem, and click Configure again.

Step 12 On the Completing page, click Finish.


 

To Confirm That Both Servers Can Be Pinged and That SQL Replication Has No Errors


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Step 2 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <IP address of secondary server>, and press Enter.

If the secondary server sends a reply, the IP address is valid.

If the secondary server does not send a reply, either the primary server has a problem obtaining an address from the DHCP server, or the assigned IP address conflicts with the IP address of another computer on the network. Verify the network settings. If needed, troubleshoot any problem as you would a network connectivity problem.

Step 3 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <Primary server name>, and press Enter.

If the primary server sends a reply, the server name is valid.

Step 4 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Step 5 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <IP address of primary server>, and press Enter.

If the primary server sends a reply, the IP address is valid.

If the primary server does not send a reply, either the secondary server has a problem obtaining an address from the DHCP server, or the assigned IP address conflicts with the IP address of another computer on the network. Verify the network settings. If needed, troubleshoot any problem as you would a network connectivity problem.

Step 6 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <Secondary server name>, and press Enter.

If the secondary server sends a reply, the server name is valid.

Step 7 On the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manager. The SQL Server Enterprise Manager window appears.

Step 8 Confirm that no errors appear for the SQL replication agents.

If errors appear for the Distribution agent, right-click the agent, and click Start Synchronizing to resume SQL replication. The errors will clear in a few minutes after the network connection between the primary and secondary servers is restored.


 

To Restart the Primary Server


Step 1 While the secondary server is active and answering calls, restart the primary server.

The primary server becomes active, and the secondary server becomes inactive.

Step 2 Confirm that the primary server starts and that there are no errors in the Application Event log.


 

To Confirm That the Primary Server Is Active and, If Applicable, To Re-enable Automatic Failover and Failback


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 If the secondary server is active, click Failback, and click OK.

Step 3 Re-enable automatic failover and failback, if applicable:

a. Click Advanced.

b. Uncheck the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

c. Click OK.

The setting will replicate to the primary server.

Step 4 Close the Failover Monitor.


 

To Confirm That Failover and Failback Function Correctly


Step 1 While the primary server is active, create a test file (for example, Test.txt) in the CommServer\Stream Files directory on the primary server.

Step 2 Confirm that the file replicates to the secondary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

If the file does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 3 On the primary server, modify the extension of a subscriber.

Step 4 Confirm that the change replicates to the secondary server immediately. When you open the Cisco Unity Administrator on the secondary server, ignore the warnings that the secondary server is inactive.

If the change does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 5 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manager. The SQL Server Enterprise Manager window appears.

Step 6 In the left pane, expand the Microsoft SQL Servers node.

Step 7 Expand the Replication Monitor node.

If the node does not exist, failover has not been configured. You must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 8 If the Replication Monitor subnodes do not have red Xs on them in the left pane, UnityDb database replication for failover is functioning normally.

If the Replication Monitor subnodes have red Xs on them, restore replication for failover:

a. On the primary server, close the SQL Server Enterprise Manager window.

b. On the secondary server, run the failover configuration wizard.

Step 9 Restore the original extension of the subscriber.

Step 10 On the primary server, manually initiate failover.

Step 11 Confirm that the primary server becomes inactive and that the secondary server becomes active.

Step 12 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 13 Confirm that the secondary server answers the call.

If the secondary server does not answer the call, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 14 On the secondary server, delete the test file from the CommServer\Stream Files directory.

Step 15 Confirm that the file is deleted from the primary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

Step 16 On the secondary server, manually initiate failback.

Step 17 Confirm that the primary server becomes active and that the secondary server becomes inactive.

Step 18 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 19 Confirm that the primary server answers the call.


 

Changing the IP Address of the Secondary Server

When choosing an IP address for the secondary Cisco Unity server, note the following considerations:

Do not choose an address accessible from the Internet. Doing so can expose the Cisco Unity server to unwanted intrusion from the Internet, even when the server is hardened.

Do not select an address that puts the Cisco Unity server on the opposite side of a firewall from:

The partner Exchange server.

Any Exchange server that homes Cisco Unity subscribers.

The domain controller/global catalog server that Cisco Unity accesses.

Do the following nine procedures in the order listed.

 

To Disable Automatic Failover and Failback, and Stop File Replication


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 Click Advanced.

Step 3 Check the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

Step 4 Click OK.

Step 5 Click Configure.

Step 6 Uncheck the Force Failover If Call Arrives on Inactive Secondary check box.

Step 7 Click OK.

Step 8 Close the Failover Monitor.


 

To Stop the Node Manager Service on the Primary and Secondary Servers


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.

Step 2 In the Services window, right-click AvCsNodeMgr, and click Stop.

Step 3 Close the Services window on the primary server.

Step 4 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Administrative Tools > Services.

Step 5 In the Services window, right-click AvCsNodeMgr, and click Stop.

Step 6 Close the Services window on the secondary server.


 

To Change the IP Address of the Secondary Server


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Settings > Control Panel > Network and Dial-Up Connections > Local Area Connection.

Step 2 Click Properties.

Step 3 In the Components Checked Are Used by This Connection list, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), but do not uncheck the check box.

Step 4 Click Properties.

Step 5 In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, change values as applicable. Refer to Windows Help for more information.

Step 6 Click OK to close the Internet Protocol TCP/IP Properties dialog box.

Step 7 Click OK to close the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box.

Step 8 Close the Local Area Connection Status window.

Step 9 If the IP address is in a different subnet, disconnect the network cable from the original subnet, and connect the cable from the target subnet to the Cisco Unity server.

Step 10 Confirm that the server name can be resolved to the new IP address.


 

To Check the Consistency of the Cisco Unity Database


Step 1 On the primary server, install the latest version of the Cisco Unity Directory Walker (DbWalker) utility, available at http://ciscounitytools.com/App_DirectoryWalker4.htm.

Step 2 Run DbWalker, and correct all errors that the utility finds. Refer to DbWalker Help for detailed instructions on running the utility and on correcting errors in the database. (The Help file, DbWalker.htm, is in the same directory as DbWalker.exe.)

 


To Set the Registry of the Primary Server by Reconfiguring Failover


Step 1 In Windows Explorer, browse to the CommServer directory.

Step 2 Double-click FailoverConfig.exe to start the Configure Cisco Unity Failover wizard.

Step 3 On the Welcome page, click Next.

Step 4 On the Specify Server Role page, click Primary Server, and click Next.

Step 5 On the Enter the Name of Your Server page, click Browse, select the name of the secondary server, and click OK. The IP address for the secondary server is filled in automatically.

Step 6 Click Next.

Step 7 On the Enter Failover Account Information page, click Browse, and double-click the name of the messaging account. This account will own the failover service.

The account you select must have the right to act as part of the operating system and to log on as a service, and must be a member of the Local Administrators group.


Caution You must specify the same account on the both the primary and secondary servers.

Step 8 In the Password field, enter the password for the account that owns the failover service, and click Next.

Step 9 On the Begin Configuring Your Server page, click Configure. The wizard verifies settings and configures failover on the primary server.

If the wizard does not finish the configuration successfully, an error message explains why the wizard failed. Exit the wizard, correct the problem, and click Configure again.

Step 10 On the Completing page, click Finish.


 

To Confirm That Both Servers Can Be Pinged and That SQL Replication Has No Errors


Step 1 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Step 2 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <IP address of secondary server>, and press Enter.

If the secondary server sends a reply, the IP address is valid.

If the secondary server does not send a reply, either the primary server has a problem obtaining an address from the DHCP server, or the assigned IP address conflicts with the IP address of another computer on the network. Verify the network settings. If needed, troubleshoot any problem as you would a network connectivity problem.

Step 3 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <Primary server name>, and press Enter.

If the primary server sends a reply, the server name is valid.

Step 4 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Step 5 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <IP address of primary server>, and press Enter.

If the primary server sends a reply, the IP address is valid.

If the primary server does not send a reply, either the secondary server has a problem obtaining an address from the DHCP server, or the assigned IP address conflicts with the IP address of another computer on the network. Verify the network settings. If needed, troubleshoot any problem as you would a network connectivity problem.

Step 6 In the Command Prompt window, enter C:\Ping <Secondary server name>, and press Enter.

If the secondary server sends a reply, the server name is valid.

Step 7 On the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manager. The SQL Server Enterprise Manager window appears.

Step 8 Confirm that no errors appear for the SQL replication agents.

If errors appear for the Distribution agent, right-click the agent, and click Start Synchronizing to resume SQL replication. The errors will clear in a few minutes after the network connection between the primary and secondary servers is restored.


 

To Restart the Secondary Server


Step 1 While the primary server is active and answering calls, restart the secondary server.

Step 2 Confirm that the secondary server starts and that there are no errors in the Application Event log.


 

To Confirm That the Primary Server Is Active and, If Applicable, to Re-enable Automatic Failover and Failback


Step 1 On the secondary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Cisco Unity > Failover Monitor.

Step 2 If the secondary server is active, click Failback, and click OK.

Step 3 Re-enable automatic failover and failback, if applicable:

a. Click Advanced.

b. Uncheck the Disable Automatic Failover and Failback check box.

c. Click OK.

The setting will replicate to the primary server.

Step 4 Close the Failover Monitor.


 

To Confirm That Failover and Failback Function Correctly


Step 1 While the primary server is active, create a test file (for example, Test.txt) in the CommServer\Stream Files directory on the primary server.

Step 2 Confirm that the file replicates to the secondary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

If the file does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 3 On the primary server, modify the extension of a subscriber.

Step 4 Confirm that the change replicates to the secondary server immediately. When you open the Cisco Unity Administrator on the secondary server, ignore the warnings that the secondary server is inactive.

If the change does not replicate, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 5 On the primary server, on the Windows Start menu, click Programs > Microsoft SQL Server > Enterprise Manager. The SQL Server Enterprise Manager window appears.

Step 6 In the left pane, expand the Microsoft SQL Servers node.

Step 7 Expand the Replication Monitor node.

If the node does not exist, failover has not been configured. You must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 8 If the Replication Monitor subnodes do not have red Xs on them in the left pane, UnityDb database replication for failover is functioning normally.

If the Replication Monitor subnodes have red Xs on them, restore replication for failover:

a. On the primary server, close the SQL Server Enterprise Manager window.

b. On the secondary server, run the failover configuration wizard.

Step 9 Restore the original extension of the subscriber.

Step 10 On the primary server, manually initiate failover.

Step 11 Confirm that the primary server becomes inactive and that the secondary server becomes active.

Step 12 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 13 Confirm that the secondary server answers the call.

If the secondary server does not answer the call, you must configure failover on both the primary and secondary servers, then do this procedure again.

Step 14 On the secondary server, delete the test file from the CommServer\Stream Files directory.

Step 15 Confirm that the file is deleted from the primary server within the time set in the File Replication Interval field in the Failover Monitor (the default is 10 minutes).

Step 16 On the secondary server, manually initiate failback.

Step 17 Confirm that the primary server becomes active and that the secondary server becomes inactive.

Step 18 Call in to Cisco Unity.

Step 19 Confirm that the primary server answers the call.


 

About Uninstalling Failover on a Cisco Unity Server

When converting a Cisco Unity server configured for failover to another purpose for which failover is not needed, it is necessary to change a number of settings and, for the secondary server, to copy the Cisco Unity data and reinstall the Cisco Unity software. A process that only uninstalls Cisco Unity failover will give unsatisfactory results.

To convert a Cisco Unity server configured for failover to a Cisco Unity server without failover, refer to the "Replacing or Converting a Cisco Unity Server or Failover Servers"chapter of the Cisco Unity Reconfiguration and Upgrade Guide at http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/voice/c_unity/rug/ex/index.htm.

To convert a Cisco Unity server configured for failover to a server for another application, follow the installation instructions for that application.

Replacing and Converting the Primary and Secondary Servers

Information and instructions for the following tasks are available in the"Replacing or Converting a Cisco Unity Server or Failover Servers" chapter of the Cisco Unity Reconfiguration and Upgrade Guide:

Replacing only the primary server.

Replacing only the secondary server.

Replacing the primary and secondary servers at the same time.

Converting the secondary server to a 60-day Cisco Unity server without a primary server.

Converting the secondary server to a permanent regular Cisco Unity server without failover.

Converting the primary server to a permanent regular Cisco Unity server without failover.

The guide is available at http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/voice/c_unity/rug/ex/index.htm.