General Guidelines

Before configuring the inter-rack redundancy deployment, here are some general guidelines:

  • Both racks should be on the same software version.

  • Both racks should be configured with same configuration.

  • Loopback port of Instance 1 and Instance 2 should be different. Else, REST-EP POD would not come up due to K8 IP/Port conflict.

  • Respective interface on both the racks should be on the same VLAN. For example, N4 VLAN of Instance1 and Instance2 should be on the same VLAN. Else, there is a route conflict on Kernel while enforcing BGP policies.

  • Consult your Cisco Technical Representative to perform the following procedures to make sure proper roles are assigned.

    For more information, see Software Upgrade on GR Pairs.

  • Post failover, perform the failback manually after ensuring the rack is healthy. Autonomous failback is not supported.

    For more information, see Recovery Procedure.

  • Use non-bonded interface in BGP speaker PODs for BGP peering.

  • BGP peering per Proto node is supported with only two BGP routers/leafs. Considering two Proto nodes, there can be maximum of four BGP neighborships.

  • Use bonded interfaces for Service traffic.

  • Geo pod uses two VIPs:

    • Internal-VIP for Inter-POD communication (within the rack)

    • External-VIP for Inter-rack Geo pod communication. Configure only on Proto Nodes on L2 Subnet. This is used to communicate across the racks. This node has external connectivity to other rack.

  • Geo Internal IP to be reachable to all nodes within the rack.

  • Geo External IP:

  • CDL/Kafka VIPs: Configure on CDL Labeled Nodes on L2 Subnet.

  • Enable LI tapping on both the racks.

  • MDF server should be reachable from both the racks.