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Configuring Cisco Unity Connection Cluster
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:
Gather Unity Connection cluster requirements. For more information, see System Requirements for Cisco Unity Connection Release 11.x at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/11x/requirements/b_11xcucsysreqs.html .
Install the publisher server. For more information, see the Installing the Publisher Server section.
Install the subscriber server. For more information, see the Installing the Subscriber Server section.
Configure the Cisco Unified Real-Time Monitoring Tool for both publisher and subscriber servers to send notifications for the following Unity Connection alerts:
AutoFailbackFailed
AutoFailbackSucceeded
AutoFailoverFailed
AutoFailoverSucceeded
NoConnectionToPeer
SbrFailed
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/c/en/us/support/unified-communications/unity-connection/products-maintenance-guides-list.html.
(Optional) Do the following tasks to customize the cluster settings on the publisher server:
Sign in to Cisco Unity Connection Administration.
Expand System Settings > Advanced and select Cluster Configuration.
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.
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).
Steps to Check the Unity Connection Cluster Status from Web Interface
| 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 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 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.
|
Integration Type |
Server Assignments and Usage of Voice Messaging Ports |
|---|---|
|
Integration by Skinny Client Control Protocol (SCCP) with Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express |
|
|
Integration through a SIP Trunk with Cisco Unified Communications Manager or Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express |
|
|
Integration through PIMG/TIMG units |
|
|
Other integrations that use SIP |
|
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 Stopping 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.
| 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.
|
Server Status |
Responsibilities of the Sever in a Unity Connection Cluster |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Primary |
|
||
|
Secondary |
|
||
|
Deactivated |
|
||
|
Not Functioning |
|
||
|
Starting |
|
||
|
Replicating Data |
|
||
|
Split Brain Recovery (After detecting two servers with Primary status) |
|
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:
A server with Secondary status can be manually changed to Primary status. See the Manually Changing the Server Status from Secondary to Primary section.
A server with Secondary status can be manually changed to Deactivated status. See the Manually Activating a Server with Deactivated Status.
A server with Deactivated status can be manually activated so that its status changes to Primary or Secondary, depending on the status of the other server. See the Manually Activating a Server with Deactivated Status section.
| 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.
|
| 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. Deactivating a server terminates all the calls that the ports for the server are handling. |
| 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. |
| 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:
|
Status Change |
Effects |
|---|---|
|
Primary to Secondary |
When the status change is initiated manually, calls in progress are not affected. When the status change is automatic, effect on calls in progress depend on the critical service that stopped. |
|
Secondary to Primary |
When the status change is initiated manually, calls in progress are not affected. When the status change is automatic, effect on calls in progress depend upon the critical service that stopped. |
|
Secondary to Deactivated |
Calls in progress are dropped. To prevent dropped calls, on the Cluster Management page in Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability, select Stop Taking Calls for the server and wait until all the calls get ended and deactivate the server. |
|
Primary or Secondary to Replicating Data |
Calls in progress are not affected. |
|
Primary or Secondary to Split Brain Recovery |
Calls in progress are not affected. |
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:
Cisco Unity Connection Administration
Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability
Cisco Unity Connection web tools accessed through the Cisco PCA—the Messaging Assistant, Messaging Inbox, and Personal Call Transfer Rules web tools
Cisco Web Inbox
Representational state transfer (REST) API clients
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:
|
Server |
Effects |
|---|---|
|
Publisher |
|
|
Subscriber |
When the server has Primary status, stopping a critical service in Cisco Unity Connection Serviceability degrades the ability of the server to function normally. The status of the servers does not change. |
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:
Shutdown the server during non business hours when voice messaging traffic is low.
Change the server status from Primary or Secondary to Deactivated before shutting down.
| Step 1 |
On the server that does not 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:
|
| Step 5 |
On the server with Secondary status (the one you want to shut down), change the status: |
| Step 6 |
Shut down the server that you deactivated:
|
Follow the steps in the given sections to replace publisher or subscriber server in a cluster:
To replace the publisher server, see the Replacing a Publisher Server section.
To replace the subscriber server, see the Replacing a Subscriber Server section.
Understanding Cluster in Detail
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:
The cluster can be assigned a DNS name that is shared by the Unity Connection servers.
Clients, such as email applications and the web tools available through the Cisco Personal Communications Assistant (PCA) can connect to either of the Unity Connection server.
Phone systems can send calls to either of the Unity Connection server.
Incoming phone traffic load is balanced between the Unity Connection servers by the phone system, PIMG/TIMG units, or other gateways that are required for the phone system integration.
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:
Homing and publishing the database and message store that are replicated to the other server.
Sending message notifications and MWI requests (the Connection Notifier service is activated).
Sending SMTP notifications and VPIM messages (the Connection Message Transfer Agent service is activated).
Synchronizing voice messages between Unity Connection and Exchange mailboxes, if the unified messaging feature is configured (the Unity Connection Mailbox Sync service is activated).
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.
 Note |
It is recommended to perform provisioning only on the Publisher server in Active-Active mode and on Subscriber (Acting Primary) in case of cluster failover. The password change and password setting modification for User PIN/Web application should be provisioned on Publisher server in Active-Active mode. |
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:
Starts the applicable services on each server, depending on server status.
Determines whether critical processes (such as voice message processing, database replication, voice message synchronization with Exchange, and message store replication) are functioning normally.
Initiates changes to server status when the server with Primary status is not functioning or when critical services are not running.
Note the following limitations when the publisher server is not functioning:
If the Unity Connection cluster is integrated with an LDAP directory, directory synchronization does not occur, although authentication continues to work when only the subscriber server is functioning. When the publisher server is resumes functioning, directory synchronization also resumes.
If a digital or HTTPS network includes the Unity Connection cluster, directory updates do not occur, although messages continue to be sent to and from the cluster when only the subscriber server is functioning. When the publisher server is functioning again, directory updates resume.
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 are not 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.
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