11.4. HA Issues
The following points should be kept in mind when managing and configuring an HA Cluster.
All Cluster Interfaces Need IP Addresses
All interfaces on both HA cluster units should have a valid private IP4 address object assigned to
them. The predefined IP object local host could be assigned for this purpose. The need to assign an
address is true even if an interface has been disabled.
SNMP
SNMP statistics are not shared between master and slave. SNMP managers have no failover
capabilities. Therefore both firewalls in a cluster need to be polled separately.
Using Individual IP Addresses
The unique individual IP addresses of the master and slave cannot safely be used for anything but
management. Using them for anything else, such as for source IPs in dynamically NATed
connections or publishing services on them, will inevitably cause problems since unique IPs will
disappear when the firewall they belong to does.
The Shared IP Must Not Be 0.0.0.0
Assigning the IP address 0.0.0.0 as the shared IP address must be avoided. This is not valid for this
purpose and will cause NetDefendOS to enter Lockdown Mode.
Failed Interfaces
Failed interfaces will not be detected unless they fail to the point where NetDefendOS cannot
continue to function. This means that failover will not occur if the active unit can still send "I am
alive" heartbeats to the inactive unit through any of its interfaces, even though one or more
interfaces may be inoperative.
Changing the Cluster ID
Changing the cluster ID in a live environment is not recommended for two reasons. Firstly this will
change the hardware address of the shared IPs and will cause problems for all units attached to the
local LAN, as they will keep the old hardware address in their ARP caches until it times out. Such
units would have to have their ARP caches flushed.
Secondly this breaks the connection between the firewalls in the cluster for as long as they are using
different configurations. This will cause both firewalls to go active at the same time.
Invalid Checksums in Heartbeat Packets
Cluster Heartbeats packets are deliberately created with invalid checksums. This is done so that they
will not be routed. Some routers may flag this invalid checksum in their log messages.
Making OSPF work
If OSPF is being used to determine routing metrics then a cluster cannot be used as the designated
router.
11.4. HA Issues
Chapter 11. High Availability
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Summary of Contents for DFL-1600 - Security Appliance
Page 27: ...1 3 NetDefendOS State Engine Packet Flow Chapter 1 NetDefendOS Overview 27 ...
Page 79: ...2 7 3 Restore to Factory Defaults Chapter 2 Management and Maintenance 79 ...
Page 146: ...3 9 DNS Chapter 3 Fundamentals 146 ...
Page 227: ...4 7 5 Advanced Settings for Transparent Mode Chapter 4 Routing 227 ...
Page 241: ...5 4 IP Pools Chapter 5 DHCP Services 241 ...
Page 339: ...6 7 Blacklisting Hosts and Networks Chapter 6 Security Mechanisms 339 ...
Page 360: ...7 4 7 SAT and FwdFast Rules Chapter 7 Address Translation 360 ...
Page 382: ...8 3 Customizing HTML Pages Chapter 8 User Authentication 382 ...
Page 386: ... The TLS ALG 9 1 5 The TLS Alternative for VPN Chapter 9 VPN 386 ...
Page 439: ...Figure 9 3 PPTP Client Usage 9 5 4 PPTP L2TP Clients Chapter 9 VPN 439 ...
Page 450: ...9 7 6 Specific Symptoms Chapter 9 VPN 450 ...
Page 488: ...10 4 6 Setting Up SLB_SAT Rules Chapter 10 Traffic Management 488 ...
Page 503: ...11 6 HA Advanced Settings Chapter 11 High Availability 503 ...
Page 510: ...12 3 5 Limitations Chapter 12 ZoneDefense 510 ...
Page 533: ...13 9 Miscellaneous Settings Chapter 13 Advanced Settings 533 ...