Configure a High Availability Deployment

View the High Availability Status

On each node, the overall status of both nodes is visible. When the connection is up, the status for each node is synchronized real-time on both nodes. When the nodes are synchronized, all data updates are replicated from A to B, and from B to A, in real-time.

To view the node status, log on to the ActivID Console and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

Note: Some data is local and is not synchronized between the nodes.

The High Availability page shows the following:

  • The status of the synchronization on both nodes.
  • The available options, depending on the context.
  • The role of the node.

Set the Appliances to Dual Mode

Prerequisites:

  • You have installed both appliances in Single Mode

  • At least one Security Domain must be configured

When setting one of the nodes to Dual Mode, the administrative operations of both nodes are not symmetric. You must select the source node (all data from this appliance will be pushed onto the target node) and the target node (appliance data from this appliance will be overwritten with the source node data).

Set the Source Appliance to Dual Mode

During the following procedure, there is no service interruption for the first appliance.

Important: You must perform this procedure on your source appliance in your Dual Mode deployment before setting the target appliance in Dual Mode.
Prerequisites:  
  • You have installed the source ActivID Appliance in full installation configured the security domains.
  • The source ActivID Appliance is functional.
  • You must have the IP address of the second appliance.
  • Verify that the network is configured for high availability.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

  2. Click Set Dual Mode.

  3. As your first appliance owns the source database and will be the reference for the initial synchronization, click Source Node.
    4. Note:  
    • The Source Node option is only displayed if security domains are configured on the appliance.
    • The node cannot be used as a source if it is broken (for example, due to unrecoverable replication errors).

  4. Enter the IP address of the second appliance (the Target Node), and click Next.

    5. Otherwise, click Cancel to remain in the Single Mode (for example, you want to verify the IP of the second node before switching the first appliance to Dual Mode).

    Note: For the IP address, you must enter valid characters for an IPv4 address.

  5. Click Continue to generate the Dual Configuration file immediately.

    6. Otherwise, click Done to return to the High Availability page and generate the Dual Configuration File later.

  6. Enter and confirm an Encryption Password.
    7. Note: If you do not confirm the encryption password correctly, a warning message appears. Reconfirm the password.
  7. Click Generate File.

  8. Click Download and save the dual configuration file on your local file system.

    9. The file is named dual_mode_<YYYY-MM-DD>_<Target Node IP>.cfg

  9. Click OK.

    10. The status is displayed as follows:

    • The Set Dual Mode option has been replaced by Set Single Mode.
    • The remote node is visible.
    • The Download Configuration option is available.
Note: Until the synchronization is up and running, you can still download the dual configuration file. This option is still available when the synchronization status is still in Under Construction, and it disappears once the appliances are synchronized.

Set the Second Appliance to Dual Mode

Prerequisites:  
  • You have set the first (source) ActivID Appliance to Dual Mode.
  • You have installed and initialized the second (target) ActivID Appliance as a Full Installation.
  • Compatibility digest must be identical on both appliances.
Note: If security domains are configured on the second appliance, they will be erased during the synchronization operation.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console (of the second/target appliance) and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

    2. The following page appears on the second appliance, seeing itself as Node a.

  2. Click Set Dual Mode.

  3. As the data on your second appliance will be overwritten with that of the first appliance (the Source Node) synchronization, click Target Node.

  4. Enter the Encryption Password for the Dual Configuration file that you generated on the source appliance.
  5. Upload the Dual Configuration file and click Next.

  6. Click Done.

  7. To initiate the synchronization, click Continue.

    8. The system automatically initiates the synchronization by downloading the database content and launching the replication processes.

    If you want to synchronize the data later, click Done. The Initiate Synchronization option is available in the High Availability configuration page.

  8. Click Ok.

    9. The system then checks the following items in the following order:

    • Same Compatibility Digest on both nodes – the appliance checks if the Compatibility Digest is the same on both nodes. The installation proceeds only when it is identical. Otherwise, the installation process is stopped. You must update the appliances to have same compatibility digest and start again.
      • Note: The version of hot fix/service pack is not checked. As long as the Compatibility digests are the same on both nodes, the installation can proceed even though the appliances do not have the same hot fix/service pack versions.

    If all conditions are verified, the synchronization proceeds.

    If one of these conditions is not verified, then an error message is displayed.

    Important: While synchronization is in progress, the synchronization status displayed is Under Construction. The page is automatically refreshed every minute. You can click the link to refresh it sooner, if needed.

When the synchronization is complete, the status is Synchronized on both nodes.

This is the view from the second appliance once synchronization is completed.

Note: If the front-end appliances that are now set as target nodes were previously configured (initialized with domains), they should be reconfigured using the repair domain procedure.

If the synchronization initialization failed, restart the synchronization again from the High Availability configuration page.

If the error persists, see Manage High Availability Errors for troubleshooting suggestions.

Switch Back to Single Mode

If required, you can switch the nodes back from Dual Mode to the Single Mode.

Both appliances will automatically go back to Single Mode without service interruption but from that point, the two appliances will no longer be synchronized.

When you switch to single mode, the second node configuration will be deleted and the second node will no longer be visible from the node you are keeping.

Note:  
  • This option is only available in Dual Mode.
  • Switching from the different states might take a few minutes, action links (such as, Set as Single or Initiate Synchronization) might not be immediately available when you are making such transitions. It might take some time for them to be available.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

    2. The following page appears on the second appliance, seeing itself as Node a.

  2. Click Set Single Mode.

The remote appliance is removed.

Note:  
  • You might have to repeat this operation on the second appliance if the two appliances were isolated.
  • When you set the node to Single Mode immediately after the Cancel Synchronization operation, the Set Single Mode button will only appear when the Cancel Synchronization is complete on the two nodes.

Download the Dual Configuration file

This procedure enables you to retrieve the Dual Configuration file that was downloaded during the Set Dual Mode step.

If issues arise during the Set Dual Mode step on the second node, you can download the file again, and try the Set Dual Mode step again.

Note: Once the synchronization is up and running, the option is no longer accessible.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console (of the first/source appliance) and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

  2. Click Download Configuration.

  3. Enter and confirm a Encryption Password.
    4. Note: If you do not confirm the encryption password correctly, a warning message appears. Reconfirm the password.
  4. Click Generate File.

  5. Click Download and save the dual configuration file on your local file system.

    6. The file is named dual_mode_<YYYY-MM-DD>_<Target Node IP>.cfg

Initiate Synchronization

This procedure enables you to launch the entire replication process, which will then synchronize the two nodes. The synchronization process can take several hours, depending on the size of the database and the quality of the network.

The following operations occur:

  • Check if the configuration (for example, the list of services) and the compatibility digests are identical on both nodes. The service pack version can be different as long as the compatibility digest is the same. If the symmetry is not checked, then the option is aborted, and you must update the node and restart the procedure again.
  • Creation of a copy of the database on the remote appliance.
  • Download of the copy in the local appliance.
  • Launch of the replication processes on both appliances.
Note:  
  • This option is accessible only in Dual Mode.
  • After the Cancel Synchronization operation, the Initiate Synchronization button will only appear when the Cancel Synchronization is complete on the two nodes.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

  2. Click Initiate Synchronization.
  3. Confirm the operation.
Important: Any data on the node will be overwritten with the data from the other node.

Cancel Synchronization

This procedure stops the synchronization and shuts down the replication processes. The Cancel Synchronization option is used when extended system maintenance lasts a long period of time. The node remains in the Dual Mode.

Cancel Synchronization will also delete the conflict resolution audit files stored on the appliances.

Warning! Cancel Synchronization is a critical option with critical consequences. The two nodes will be independent and autonomous. The reverse operation is the Initiate Synchronization option that copies one database from one node to the other. Consequently, if both nodes still manage authentication requests or administrative updates individually, a resynchronization will cause the loss of data updates of one node.
  1. Log on to the ActivID Console and, under System in the left menu, select High Availability.

  2. Click Cancel Synchronization.
  3. Confirm the operation.
Important: If you proceed with the operation, then you will shut down the replication process on both nodes. Re-initiating the synchronization process might take several hours, depending on network and database content.