Adding a High Availability System

Considerations When Adding High Availability (HA) to a System

A High Availability (HA) system is a local, redundant system that is created, then added to a primary system. In the event of a virtual machine failure, the system falls back to the HA system.

The HA system has the following constraints:

  • The HA system size must be the same as the primary system size.
  • The HA system must be at the same release version as the primary system. If you update the primary system, the HA system must be updated.
  • If the primary system currently has HA and you are deploying a new HA system, you cannot reuse the virtual machines in the original HA system. Remove the old HA before deploying the new HA system with new virtual machines.
  • Because this process adds new virtual machines to your system, your current security certificate becomes invalid and requires an updated certificate unless you are using a self-signed certificate.
  • Your high-availability system must be configured with the same OVA and patch as your primary system. If the versions of your primary and high-availability systems do not match, you will be instructed to upgrade to the higher version of the two.
  • The HA system internal virtual machines must be on the same subnet as the primary system internal virtual machines.
  • If you have added public access on the primary system, you must add it to the HA system. Also, the HA system Internet Reverse Proxy virtual machine must be on the same subnet as the primary system Internet Reverse Proxy virtual machine.

Note

Most of the features on your high-availability system are prohibited. For example you do not have access to upgrade, SNMP configuration, storage access, or email servers on your high-availability system. You can view system properties, but modification is prohibited.

Before You Begin

The following conditions should be met before adding High Availability (HA) to a primary system:

  • Verify that the target primary system is deployed.
  • Put the primary system is in maintenance mode.
  • Create a backup of the primary system. See Creating a Backup by using VMware vCenter.
  • Verify that all virtual machines are functioning normally. Determine virtual machine status by viewing the System Monitor as described in About Your Dashboard.
  • Record the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the high-availability virtual machine; you must know the FQDN to add high-availability to the primary system.

Deploying a System for High Availability (HA)

High Availability (HA) is deployed like a primary system, except that during the deployment the system identifies it as a HA system. The HA system is then linked to the primary system that uses the HA system as a fallback in the event of a primary system failure. A primary system failure is transparent to users.

To add HA to a system:

Procedure
    Step 1   Deploy a parallel system by using Deploying a System Automaticallyor Deploying a System Manually. When the process asks if you are deploying a primary system or HA, choose HA.

    We recommend that you use the same process to deploy the HA system that you used to deploy the primary system. If you do not know which process was used to deploy the primary system, use the Deploying a System Automatically process, unless you are deploying a large (2000 concurrent users) system. All large systems require Deploying a System Manually.

    Step 2   Verify the HA and primary system versions match:
    1. In a separate browser window, sign in to the primary system WebEx Administration site.
    2. On the Dashboard tab, verify that the primary system version number in the System pane matches the version of the HA.If the versions match, continue. If the primary system is at a later version than the HA system, then you must either redeploy the HA system by using a OVA file with a matching version of the software or update the HA system.
    What to Do Next

    Link the HA system to the primary system by using Linking a High Availability System to a Primary System.

    When you update a high-availability system, after you reboot the system and the reboot process appears to be complete, we recommend that you wait an additional 15 minutes before starting your add high-availability system procedure.

    Linking a High Availability System to a Primary System

    To link the primary system to a deployed HA system completing the integration of HA into the primary system:

    Before You Begin

    Create a High Availability (HA) system by using the same process that you used to create the primary system and as described in Deploying High Availability.

    Procedure
      Step 1   Notify users and administrators that the system is being put into Maintenance Mode.
      Step 2   Sign into the primary system administration site.
      Step 3   Select Turn On Maintenance Mode.
      Step 4   In the System section, select the View More link.
      Step 5   Select Add High Availability System.
      Step 6   Follow the instructions on the System Properties page to add the HA system.
      Step 7   Enter the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Administration site virtual machine of the high-availability system and select Continue.

      The readiness of both the primary system and the HA system is validated. If both systems are ready, then you will see a green Add button. (Do not select it if your system is not in Maintenance Mode.) If either system is not ready, an error message is displayed. Fix the error and attempt the procedure again.

      Step 8   Select Add.

      Your high-availability system is added and automatically configured to serve as a backup in the event of a primary system failure.

      Step 9   Select Turn Off Maintenance Mode and Continue to confirm.

      Your system reboots. You can sign back into the Administration site after the restart is complete.