Creating HA Groups

While creating an HA group, it is critical to ensure that all the devices in a particular HA set belong to a single IP space. In a scenario where there are four NIOS-X Servers a, b, c, and d, that are in a three HA groups with a hub and spoke design (a →b, a→c, a→ d) or a chain (a→b, b→c, c→d) the subnets for all the related peers must be in the same IP space.

For example, if you use two different IP spaces A and B, each of the IP spaces may have a subnet that contain the same IP address 10.0.0.1 which may lead to a conflict. To avoid such a scenario, it is required to have all the devices in a HA group under a single IP space.

To create an HA group, complete the following:

1. From the Infoblox Portal, click Configure > Networking > IPAM/DHCP > HA Groups > Create HA Group.

2. On the Create HA Group page, specify the following:
   
   

   • Name: Enter a name for the HA group.

   • Description: Enter additional information about the HA group.

   • SERVICE INSTANCES:

     • HA Configuration: Select one of the following:

       • Active / Active: Both NIOS-X Servers remain active.

       • Active / Passive: One NIOS-X Server remains active and one remains passive. When the active NIOS-X Server is down, the passive NIOS-X Server takes over. 

       • Advanced Active / Passive: One host may be a part of multiple HA groups. When the active NIOS-X Server is down, the passive NIOS-X Server takes over. 

         • Active: Select a NIOS-X Server from the column selector. This is the active NIOS-X Server. 

         • Port: Displays the port number associated with the respective NIOS-X Server.

         • Active NIOS-X Server / Passive NIOS-X Server: Select a NIOS-X Server from the column selector. This is the Active NIOS-X Server if the HA Configuration is Active/Active. This is the Passive NIOS-X Server if the HA Configuration is Active/Passive. 

         • Switch Active / Passive: Click this button to switch NIOS-X Servers between Active and Passive. On clicking the button, the Active node becomes the Passive node. This feature can be used to initiate a manual failover and for troubleshooting purposes.

         • Port: Displays the port number associated with the respective NIOS-X Server.

       • Anycast: In Anycast mode, Anycast is used for configuring HA. Before creating a DHCP HA group by using Anycast, make sure Anycast is configured on the Anycast page; for more information, see Creating Anycast Configuration. DHCP with Anycast can be configured only with two nodes. On the Create HA Group page, select the Anycast configuration available: 

         • Peer Connections: Configure the peer connections for the Anycast configuration. Peer connection IPs are the addresses over which the users want two hosts in this HA group to communicate. Default values will be the two hosts' primary addresses. You can override them, but make sure that the new values represent the interfaces available on these two hosts.

           • Destination IP: Specify an IPv4 address.

   • Tags: For information about tags, see Managing Tags.

3. Click Save & Close to save the details or click Cancel to exit.

Status Changes in HA Peer

When an HA peer changes status (if a NIOS-X Server is down), the status is shown on the NIOS-X Servers page. Error messages related to issues with the NIOS-X Server are also displayed. For more information, see Viewing General Server Information.