Instance HA Pair on a Standalone NSsp Node

Multiple instances within an NSsp can support stateful HA. This multi-instance HA model exactly mimics the NSv HA model in terms of the behavior and capabilities. Two instances can be paired to form a stateful HA. One of them resumes the role as a Primary active instance and the other as Secondary standby instance. The active and standby roles can change during an instance's lifetime.

This section explains how to form instance HA pairing within one NSsp.

HA Instances within an NSsp 15700

Prerequisites for HA Pairing of Instances within a Standalone NSsp 15700

• Upload instance firmware.
• At least two Instance Licenses should be Available. Verify this from the Instance Licenses page.

To create a basic HA pair of instances on a standalone NSsp 15700

1. Add two instances.
   1. First navigate to DEVICE | Multi-Instance > Instances and check under RESOURCE ALLOCATION that at least four CPUs are available to support Control and Data planes on two instances.
   2. Navigate to DEVICE | Multi-Instance > Licenses and check that at least two licenses are available.
   3. Navigate to DEVICE | Multi-Instance > Firmware and check that up-to-date firmware is available. If not, upload new firmware. See Uploading Instance Firmware.
   4. Navigate to DEVICE | Multi-Instance > Instances and click +Add. The Add Instance dialog appears.

      Add Instance Dialog

      

   5. Fill in Organization Name and Instance Name. Use designations that help link the pairs.
   6. Choose the ACI Version from the drop-down menu. This firmware must be the same for both instances.
   7. Select the number of Management (control plane) and Processing (data plane) cores. Unless the appliance itself is part of a high-availability pair, the Instance Host is grayed out as This Firewall.
   8. Enable High Availability Instances.
   9. Click Next. The Interface Mapping step now appears.

      Interface Mapping

      

   10. Add two ports for HA control and HA data link.
   11. Add additional ports to connect the instances to front panel ports.

       The VLAN should be in the range of 65 .. 4094.

   12. Click Next and the Advanced Settings dialog box appears.

       Advanced Settings

       

   13. Configure the settings. Those shown above are typical for instances supporting HA.

       Configure default X0 and X1 static IP for the HA instances. X0 and X1 are virtual IP addresses for the HA instances.

   14. Click Next and the HA Settings dialog box appears.

       HA Settings

       

   15. Copy available instance serial numbers from the Instance Licenses page, one for the Primary and one for the secondary Instance.
   16. Assign Control and Data interfaces between the two instances.
   17. Make a note of the LAN and WAN monitor IP addresses for the HA instances, derived from the default X0 and X1 IP.
   18. Note Reside Information and LAN / WAN monitor IP addresses.
   19. Click Next and the Summary appears.

       Summary

       

2. Navigate to DEVICES | Multi-Instance > Instances.

   Start Instances

   

3. After the instances are RUNNING, log in to the instance’s user interface.
4. After the HA instances have started, one instance is elected as Primary Active, and the other reboots and come up as Secondary Standby.
5. After the HA pairing is successful, the Root Instance displays the HA status and HA peer information along with other instance information.
6. The instance HA status can also be verified by logging into the instance user interface and navigating to the DEVICE | High Availability > Monitoring.